Judge killed in US court shooting

The suspect is said to have grabbed a gun from a sheriff's deputy

A judge and two officials have been killed in a shooting at a court building in the US city of Atlanta.

A major search is under way for the suspect, named as Brian Nichols, 33. He was appearing in court on rape and kidnapping charges.

Witnesses said the suspect grabbed a gun from a sheriff's deputy, opened fire and escaped in a car he seized.

The judge and a stenographer died at the scene, while a sheriff's deputy later died of his wounds.

A second deputy was also injured in the incident, which happened just after 0900 (1400 GMT), police said. She is expected to survive.

Courthouse sealed off

The judge has been named as Rowland Barnes, 64, one of the most senior judges in Atlanta.

A string of lawyers and colleagues paid tribute to Mr Barnes, who last month ordered a woman who killed her five-week-old daughter to have surgery to prevent her having more children.

Rowland Barnes was one of Georgia's most senior judges

All the judges in Fulton County courthouse were locked in their chambers after the shooting, the Associated Press news agency reports.

The suspect reportedly tried stealing several cars at gunpoint, eventually escaping in a green Honda.

One man he approached, Deronta Franklin, told CNN Brian Nichols opened his car door and pointed a gun in his face.

"He was calm and cool. He said 'Get out of the truck'."

Chuck Cole, a lawyer who heard the shooting from a nearby car park, told interviewers: "We heard some noise. It sounded like three or four shots.

"At the time, we thought it was just an engine backfiring."

The building and others nearby were sealed and traffic in the surrounding area was halted as police launched their search. Schools in the area were also closed.

Dangerous clients

Across Georgia, electronic messages were being posted on motorway signs giving details of the vehicle taken by the suspect.

This is a reminder to those of us who do criminal law that a percentage of our clients are very dangerous Ken Driggs Atlanta lawyer

Atlanta lawyer Ken Driggs, who represents clients on death row, told the BBC News Website: "This is a reminder to those of us who do criminal law that a percentage of our clients are very dangerous."

Mr Driggs said it was significant that the shooting took place in a state court house rather than a federal court house, where security would have been considerably tighter.

He also said that Nichols would be dressed in normal clothes, rather than a jail uniform, because people on trial were allowed to wear their own clothes for fear of prejudicing juries.

The shooting comes less than two weeks after the murder of the husband and mother of a judge in Chicago.