WA: gunshot fired in our courthouse (?)

News from the Olympian:

Inmate attacks corrections officer in county courthouse; two injured

I got to the building after it had been evacuated, so I don't have much to say beyond, light a candle for the officer.

Update: Like I say, I wasn't there and I didn't hear it, but I talked to people who were inside the courthouse when it happened. I know the officer and I've seen the inmate in court. Here is coverage from Northwest Cable News and KOMO. The Olympian is updating its online article as more details are made public.

Update: Officer _______ was released from the hospital Friday night. She deserves a lot of commendation for battling this guy for 5, 10, 20 minutes and holding him at bay while the sally-port elevator was stuck between floors. Additional credit should go to the court personnel who were able to pry the elevator door open and extract her and Carl Vance, the offender, who, if he wasn't a 3rd strike guy before this, ought to be going away for the rest of his natural life now. I have my own opinions about short-staffing, handcuffs-only versus belly chains, and firearms in the courthouse, but I don't want to make policy hay out of this bad act tonight, just to voice relief that everyone came through it alive. The official inquiry is continuing, as they say.

Update 04/01/06:
Here is the most up-to-date information from the Olympian:

- Prisoner attacks officer in courthouse elevator - ‘She struggled until the very end. ... She did everything she was supposed to do'

Sam Meyer and Robert Jimerson of the Thurston County Office of Assigned Counsel are quoted.

- Inmate, a former police officer, has violent past

- Attack puts spotlight on security concerns with jail, courthouse