Man dead after getting hold of gun outside Kenosha County Courthouse
KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS) -- A significant police presence was on the scene in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Thursday night after a body was found steps from the Kenosha County Courthouse.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, it is believed that the body belongs to a man arrested on weapons charges and got a hold of a gun.
Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, police were transporting the suspect from the courthouse to the county jail – when officers heard a gunshot from the backseat of the squad car.
Video from Chopper 2 earlier Thursday evening showed investigators focusing their attention on a black police cruiser. It is believed the suspect was in that vehicle – or getting placed in the back seat – when somehow, he was able to get a hold of a gun.
Authorities in Kenosha did not elaborate on what happened Thursday night. But at least one shot went off, and when the gunfire stopped, the man was dead – steps from the courthouse.
Later, in a statement, police said: "Preliminary information indicates the arrestee suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound from a concealed weapon not located in the initial search by officers. Life-saving measures were attempted. However, the arrestee was pronounced deceased at the scene."
The shooting happened in the heart of downtown Kenosha – a pretty busy area when the shot went off. Investigators said the jail went into lockdown briefly as a precaution.
But they had not clarified as of 10 p.m. how the man got a hold of the gun and whether the man was in handcuffs.
These are all questions detectives from neighboring Racine County – an outside agency – will try to determine in the coming days.
The was no indication that any officers or deputies were injured. But the looming question Thursday night remained – how did the inmate get a gun, and was there a struggle?