Ex-cop killed after firing at W. Va. federal courthouse

Michael Winter | USA TODAY

A retired city police officer fired more than 20 rounds into the federal courthouse building in Wheeling, W.Va., before being shot dead Wednesday afternoon.

A Wheeling police officer and a U.S. court security officer killed the gunman after he opened fire with an assault rifle at 2:45 p.m., Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger said at an evening news conference. He would not confirm the shooter's identity, saying only that he had retired from the department in 2000.

Wheeling Mayor Andy McKenzie said police officials told him the gunman had worked on the force for more than 20 years.

U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld, who works in the federal building, identified the dead officer as Thomas Piccard, The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reported. WV MetroNews also said multiple sources had identified Piccard.

Two federal court security guards were treated for cuts from shattered glass when the gunman opened fire.

Schwertfeger said the motive was still unknown.

City resident Carla Webb Daniels said she saw the gunman fire from the Chase Bank parking lot across from the building, then reload and fire at a nearby YWCA. She said he fired between 25 and 30 rounds.

The federal building houses the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, along with regional offices of the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration.