White House fence-jumper killed after Pa. court attack

Michael Winter | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Shooting Reported at Pa. Courthouse Lobby A shooting occurred in the lobby of the West Chester courthouse involving a member of the Chester County sheriff's office and a man who apparently tried to enter the courthouse. (Aug. 25)

A Pennsylvania man who jumped a White House fence in March was shot dead Tuesday inside a Philadelphia-area courthouse after he slashed a sheriff's deputy with a knife.

Curtis Smith, 34, of Coatesville was killed by another deputy after the attack about 11 a.m. in the lobby of the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester, Pa., District Attorney Thomas Hogan said at a news conference.

Deputy Kevin Brough, who has been on the force for 18 months, was cut on his left hand and arm. He was slated for surgery Tuesday night at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said Sheriff Carolyn Bunny Welsh, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Smith was pronounced dead at Paoli Hospital. Officials did not immediately say how many times he had been shot. It was not clear why he was at the courthouse or what prompted the attack.

A lawyer representing Smith in a pending domestic-violence case told WCAU-TV his client "had no terrorist claim or anything like that."

The courthouse was locked down for about two hours and then closed the rest of the day. Trials and court business for those inside continued, however, the Delaware County Daily Times reported.

“Unfortunately, because of incidents like this across the nation, we have learned how to deal with an attack at a courthouse,” Hogan said. “No one else was injured. The sheriffs did their job, and the lockdown went perfectly."

Smith was arrested March 1 after he scaled a stone wall at the southeast corner of the White House complex. The arrest record said he wanted "to pass a message to the president," the Washington Post reported. He offered no resistance and "turned around presenting his hands behind his back for arrest."

Under a deferred-prosecution agreement in April, Smith was ordered to stay away from the White House and to report to authorities by phone weekly, the Inquirer reported. A status hearing was scheduled for October.

Smith was one of three men detained within 16 hours after they breached the White House perimeter.

In May, he was charged with burglary, assault and harassment over a domestic dispute. Court records show a preliminary hearing was scheduled for October, WCAU-TV reported

"He was a truck driver," his attorney, Lewis Hannah III, told the station. "He worked every day, had a family, a wife."