The escorting deputy's gun was unsecured at the time and this violent prisoner was not shackled because the court "didn't want to prejudice the jury." He simply took the deputy's weapon away from him and started shooting.
I've read about lots of these incidents over the years. Tragically, some people just never learn.
It has been reported that he was out on bond - why would he be in shackles?
He was in a room with a deputy awaiting his trial. Seems he got tired of waiting.
A defense atty. was on CNN earlier. He said that a deputy would never, ever tell a judge about finding a weapon on a prisoner. Referring to the shank found on the perp in this case. A deputy wouldn't ever, ever want to influence a judge.
Wouldn't that be something a judge would need to know?