A man committed suicide inside a Fargo, North Dakota courtroom Monday after being found guilty on terrorizing-related charges.
North Dakota U.S. Marshal Dallas Carlson told KVRR:
He produced an edge weapon and cut his throat.
Carlson said the jury had left the courtroom when the man decided to end his life but that U.S. District Judge Peter Welte, courtroom staff and several others were all present when the incident occurred.
It is currently under investigation by the U.S. Marshal Service and the FBI.
BREAKING: The U.S. Marshals confirm one person is dead after an incident at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Fargo this afternoon. A witness tells VNL during his sentencing hearing, the male defendant stood up & slit his throat w/ what looked like a pen or a plastic shank. pic.twitter.com/azj0C3BLPU
— Bailey Hurley (@BaileyHurleyVNL) May 17, 2021
FBI spokesman Kevin Smith told the Associated Press:
We need to officially document what happened in that federal courtroom today. All the questions you have, we have. What was the sharp object, how did it get into the courtroom, those questions, what did people see him do.
A witness of the event told Valley News Live that the man used an unidentified object to commit suicide.
The guy turned around and you could see the inside of his neck. He had slit his neck with some object... don’t know if it was plastic or what it was. One of the other attorneys in there said it looked like a pen, but his attorney said it looked like a scalpel.
The witness also said that U.S. Marshalls had to wrestle the man to the floor of the courtroom. Security officers and deputy marshals attempted to save the man’s life in the courtroom but he died from his injuries.
Court documents show that the man was charged with reckless endangerment and assault for reportedly running someone over with a vehicle. He also faced a terrorizing-related charge on accusations that he brandished a weapon.
Smith said the man had been acquitted on one charge but found guilty on another.