One reportedly shot and killed outside Texas courthouse

HOUSTON -- A Texas prosecutor was shot and killed outside a Dallas-area courthouse Thursday, and the courthouse and other nearby buildings were locked down as investigators searched for two suspects, officials said.

The Kaufman County prosecutor was fatally shot outside the Kaufman County Courthouse, about 30 miles east of Dallas, in an employee parking lot outside the courthouse as he left his car on the way into work at about 8:50 a.m., Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Pat Laney told The Times.

The suspects then fled in what witnesses described as a brown or silver sedan, possibly a Ford Taurus, Laney said. They have been described as dressed in black, one possibly wearing a tactical vest, but Laney said she could not confirm that. She said it was unclear why the men targeted the prosecutor, whose name had not been released Thursday morning pending notification of his relatives.

Laney could not say how many times the prosecutor was shot. No weapon was recovered and she said investigators were still determining what type of gun was used in the shooting.

“There are cameras in the parking lot, but no posted law enforcement on duty there,” she said, adding that “nothing like this has ever happened in Kaufman County.”

No one else was injured in the shooting, Laney said. She said officials, who held a briefing about the shooting Thursday morning, plan to hold another at 3 p.m. Central Time Thursday.

The Texas Department of Public Safety sent out an alert for troopers to be on lookout for a silver “older model” Ford Taurus and a pair of suspects wearing black, at least one in a tactical vest. Laney said several other agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, were also investigating.

ALSO:

New Aspen speed limit -- 14 miles an hour?

Jury convicts priest, teacher in Philadelphia sex-abuse scandal

White House, politicians react to Hadiya Pendleton shooting death