FARGO, N.D. — A man who had been on trial in Fargo, North Dakota, reportedly killed himself after receiving an unfavorable verdict in U.S. District Court.
BREAKING: The U.S. Marshals confirm one person is dead after an incident at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Fargo this afternoon. A witness tells VNL during his sentencing hearing, the male defendant stood up & slit his throat w/ what looked like a pen or a plastic shank. pic.twitter.com/azj0C3BLPU
— Bailey Hurley (@BaileyHurleyVNL) May 17, 2021
North Dakota U.S. Marshal Dallas Carlson said that the incident happened Monday afternoon after a jury returned a partial guilty verdict against the unidentified man, who had faced terrorizing-related charges, KVRR reported.
“He produced an edge weapon and cut his throat,” Carlson told the TV station.
According to Valley News Live, the Fargo Fire Department responded to the incident at the Quentin Burdick Courthouse at around 2 p.m.
WARNING: The witness account of the incident contains graphic details.
A witness told the outlet that the object could have been a pen or plastic shank.
“The guy turned around and you could see the inside of his neck. He had slit his neck with some object... don’t know if it was plastic or what it was. One of the other attorneys in there said it looked like a pen, but [the man’s] attorney said it looked like a scalpel,” the witness told Valley News Live.
Carlson also confirmed that the jury had already left the courtroom when the man harmed himself, but U.S. District Judge Peter Welte, courtroom staff and others witnessed the incident, KVRR reported.
The U.S. Marshal Service and the FBI are investigating.
Cox Media Group
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