An alleged onetime White House fence-jumper was killed today during a courthouse confrontation in a Philadelphia suburb. Authorities say Curtis Smith entered the lobby of the West Chester courthouse at about 11am and slashed a deputy sheriff with a knife. Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said on his Facebook page that another deputy sheriff shot Smith, who was pronounced dead at a hospital. The injured deputy sheriff was also taken to the hospital and is reported in stable condition, and the Justice Center was placed on lockdown and then closed for the rest of the day.
NBC News reports that the Coatesville, Pa., man had been arrested in March for allegedly scaling a wall and jumping the White House's outer perimeter. It's not clear why he was at the Pennsylvania courthouse today, though he was set to face burglary assault and harassment charges in October that had to do with a domestic assault arrest in May. Also in May, he had pleaded guilty to traffic violations. His attorney says Smith was a truck driver who was supposed to get counseling before his October hearing, and "had no terrorist claim or anything like that." (More Philadelphia stories.)
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