Defendant shot by officer during courthouse struggle dies

By Sarah Krueger

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    ROXBORO, North Carolina (WRAL) — A man on trial who was shot Thursday while trying to grab a bailiff’s gun in the Person County Courthouse has died, authorities said Friday.

Christopher Thomas Vaughan, 35, became enraged after he was convicted of a misdemeanor false imprisonment charge and started yelling and threw a chair, a source told WRAL News.

Roxboro officials said it appeared the man attempted to attack people inside the courtroom, including the bailiff.

The source said two court officers worked to subdue the Vaughan, but during the struggle, he got hold of the bailiff’s gun. At that point, an officer shot Vaughan, according to the source.

The State Bureau of Investigation, which was called in to investigate the incident, said a Roxboro police officer, whose name hasn’t been released, shot Vaughan.

The officer suffered a broken hand in the incident, while the bailiff suffered a gash on his head and scratches to his neck. Both were treated at a local medical facility and released.

The Person County courthouse was closed for the rest of the day Thursday after the shooting.

People who live in the area are stunned at what unfolded.

“I didn’t expect something like that to happen in Roxboro,” said Leslie Evans, who lives near the courthouse. “But then again, with all the craziness that’s been happening lately, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“It’s disturbing because there’s always a lot of folks in court,” said Jody Blackwell, who worked at the courthouse for 10 years as a probation officer. “[I] never had any issues. I started here in 1994, and don’t know of any issues, anything like this since then.”

Person County District Attorney Mike Waters said Wake County’s District Attorney, Lorrin Freeman, would be handling the incident along with SBI since employees from Waters’ office were in the courtroom during the shooting.

Freeman said she will review all eyewitness accounts and evidence collected by SBI.

“The SBI is on the ground trying to do the investigation and we’ll just see what the evidence brings forward,” explained Freeman.

Courthouse security will not be a part of Freeman’s investigation, but she said she expects the shooting to raise questions for the Person County and Roxboro communities.

“I think it’s prudent for all of those involved in running the courthouse to look at it once the criminal investigation is done [and] determine are there things that could have been done differently and are there changes that need to be made,” said Freeman.

Freeman said the investigation is expected to take months.

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