Judge, lawyer killed in shooting at Milan courthouse News
Judge, lawyer killed in shooting at Milan courthouse

[JURIST] Claudio Giardiello, a defendant in a bankruptcy case, opened fire during trial on Thursday, killing three people, including a lawyer and a judge. Giardiello, an Italian businessman being tried for fraudulent bankruptcy, fired at least 13 shots from a gun he sneaked into the Palace of Justice [official website, in Italian] in Milan, killing the presiding judge Fernando Ciampi, lawyer Lorenzo Alberto Claris Appiani [profiles, in Italian] and one of his co-defendants. A fourth person was found dead inside the building after evacuation, reportedly having suffered a heart attack. Giardiello, who is thought to have sneaked the gun through security using a false ID, brought with him two spare cartridges for his weapon, indicating premeditation in the killings. The suspect fled the courthouse after the shooting and was apprehended in the suburb of Vimercate. The ease with which Giardiello was able to smuggle his gun into the courthouse has brought about questions of lax courthouse security.

US judges and court administrators have also been increasingly focused on security issues [NCSC report] following a spate of attacks, bombings and threats [JURIST reports] directed at judges, their families and their workplaces in recent years. In April 2008 Ohio resident David Tuason was indicted for allegedly threatening [JURIST report] to blow up the US Supreme Court building and attack black men, including Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Other death threats [JURIST report] have been reported against Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and now-retired Justice Sandra Day O’Conner.