And I pray every day that I never have to use it. COOPER: You haven't actually had to use it or even threaten it, have you? CHILDERS: No, I haven't. My predecessors carried them, and there are a lot of judges with guns. COOPER: How common is it for a judge to carry a firearm into the courtroom? CHILDERS: More common than you think. It hasn't been that long ago that a federal judge was killed here in Birmingham. I do know that there has been a problem for years. Do you think it's just - it's being better reported, or do you think the crimes are actually - or that the threats are actually increasing? CHILDERS: Well, I don't know. COOPER: I mean, the Justice Department says that - that, you know, threats against federal judges and prosecutors have more than doubled in the last six years. But the problem now is, we don't have the security that we once have had. I don't know that it's any worse now than it has always been. COOPER: So, when you heard that story today about this shooter in the courthouse, and you saw that video, and hearing the sounds of the gunfire, I mean, what - what goes through your mind? CHILDERS: Well, it's a terrifying situation.
But the problem with the security guards is, they are not trained. And we had two sheriffs for three domestic relations judges. We originally had two deputy sheriffs who sat outside our door. COOPER: So, you have no bailiffs or type of security in the actual courtroom? CHILDERS: No, sir, we do not. Well, we have security - when we no longer had deputy sheriffs with us. Those concerns started in October, when we had cutbacks and we - when we no longer had security guards. How bad is it? JUDGE SUZANNE CHILDERS, JEFFERSON, COUNTY, ALABAMA: Well, it's a concern. Judge, you have become so concerned about safety in your own courtroom, you have begun actually carrying a gun into the courtroom with you. Joining us now is Judge Suzanne Childers of Jefferson County, Alabama. But, by 2008 the most recent year there's a data for, that number had risen to 1,278 threats. In 2003, according to the Justice Department, there were 592 threats against judges and prosecutors. A new report just out today, coincidentally, shows courthouse violence is a growing concern.
The court building was also home to the offices of Harry Reid and John Ensign, Nevada's two senators. He burned his house down before going to the courthouse, suggesting he maybe knew this was going to be a one-way trip. CNN has learned that the shooter was Johnny Wicks, a senior citizen angry over his Social Security benefits case. (GUNSHOTS) (END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Amazing how calm the man who took those pictures seems to be. (GUNSHOTS) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hell of a morning for jury duty. (GUNSHOTS) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (GUNSHOTS) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shooting outside a Las Vegas courthouse. All of it was captured on cell phone video by a man on his way out of the courthouse after a jury summons. marshals and the security guards returned fire. It happened at 8:00 this morning, a lone gunman opening fire with a shotgun in the lobby of the federal courthouse. That's what we have learned at this hour. First up, though, the breaking news: new information about the shooting at the federal courthouse in Las Vegas today, namely, who did it and why. You're going to meet the mom and her beautiful miracle child. A mom who was thought to have died during childbirth and her baby, who was also born dead, both came back to life. And later, "Up Close": what is being called a Christmas miracle. We're going to speak with the reporter who broke the story. Also tonight, "Digging Deeper" into a chilling story just now coming to light about a terror threat thought to be a credible one against President Obama on Inauguration Day.
And you will hear from a gun-carrying judge about why courtrooms have become so dangerous. You're going to see some remarkable video that was actually taken during the shooting. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.ĪNDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, breaking news: a name and a motive in the shooting that terrorized a Las Vegas federal building today, left one hero wounded, another one dead. Las Vegas Courthouse Gun Battle Christmas Miracle Mother and Son
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