Courthouse Shooting: Defendant Killed By U.S. Marshal While Attacking Witness With A Pen

In a courthouse shooting in Salt Lake City, Utah, a defendant on trial was shot and killed by a US Marshal after he attacked one of the witnesses in the case.

The FBI reported that 25-year-old Siale Angilau, who was shot in the chest several times by the marshal, was rushed to hospital but died shortly after arrival. The FBI news release claimed that the marshal shot Angilau due to the fact that he was charging at a witness with a pen in his hand in an “aggressive, threatening manner.”

Perry Caldwell, who witnessed the courtroom shooting with his daughter, said Angilau was shot at least six times. The witness who was attacked by Angilau was not injured. The defendant was accused of a number of crimes, including assaulting a federal officer and other gun crime.

Utah Department of Corrections spokeswoman, Brooke Adams, said that Angilau had been in the Utah state prison since 2007, and was only handed over to marshals on Friday for his court appearance.

He was arrested back in 2007 for a probation violation, and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and failure to respond to a command of a police officer.

Angilau’s trial was one of the first to be held at the all new $185 million federal courthouse which was opened just a week ago in downtown Salt Lake City. The new building, which was designed with safety in mind, is bomb resistant and contains bulletproof glass in some areas. On top of that, judges, prisoners and the public have separate routes in and out of the courthouse in order to maximize safety.

Following the Courthouse shooting, the new structure was closed for a while but then reopened a short time later.

It remains to be seen why such excessive force was used against the defendant who could presumably have simply been restrained by the marshals on duty.