Shooting reported at Cook County Courthouse in Grand Marais [Minnesota]

Three people were shot at the Cook County Courthouse in Grand Marais this afternoon, the Associated Press is reporting.

Radio station WTIP in Grand Marais reported that the county sheriff said people were shot inside the courthouse between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. today, and the suspect is in custody.

State Public Safety spokesman Doug Neville also said the suspect was in custody. He had no details on what led to the shooting.

Neville said two of the wounded were being treated at a hospital in Grand Marais, with the third taken to Duluth.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Department would only confirm that there was a shooting at the courthouse, but said no other information could be released at this time.

The News Tribune has a reporter and photographer en route to Grand Marais. Check back here for updated information as it becomes available.

From: http://www.co.cook.mn.us/index.php/home

Press Release from Cook County Sheriff
Thursday, 15 December 2011 19:07
CONTACT: DOUG NEVILLE – MN Department of Public Safety 651-334-8739

Just after four o’clock today a shooting occurred at the Cook County Courthouse in Grand Marais, MN. There were three gunshot victims. One victim was treated and released from the Cook County North Shore Hospital in Grand Marais. Two victims were transported to Essentia Health Hospital in Duluth, MN.

One suspect is in custody and authorities are not seeking any other suspects. According to Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk there are no threats to public safety.

Investigators from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and a Crime Scene Team are in route to Grand Marais to assist the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation.

The story has been updated at the source to include the following:

Gary Schlienz, of Grand Marais, told the News Tribune the suspect probably is his son, 42-year-old Daniel Schlienz, a former professional boxer in Duluth.
Daniel Schlienz was the defendant in a criminal sexual conduct case that was being heard in the Grand Marais courthouse today, according to court records.
Gary Schlienz told the News Tribune he went to the courthouse, where he was told this son was responsible for the shooting. He was told that two people were shot in the courtroom — a bailiff in the arm, and a prosecuting attorney in the body.
“He hated the prosecuting attorney that did this,” Schlienz told the News Tribune.
Gary Schlienz said his son’s mother, Ginger Berglund, was in the courtroom during the shooting and tried to take the gun away from her son.
“He didn’t think of anybody else at the time, I’m sure,” Gary Schlienz said.
Schlienz said the prosecution of his son had taken a severe toll, with his son threatening suicide as recently as two weeks ago.
“I don’t want to make excuses for him, but they prosecuted him pretty bad. He had no job, no money, nothing,” Gary Schlienz said.
Daniel Schlienz is a former boxer who in 2006 entered an Alford Plea on charges that he sexually assaulted two 15-year-old girls and one 17-year-old girl. In 2007 he moved to withdraw the plea, a motion that was initially denied by the sentencing court. The Court of Appeals in January ruled that his plea withdrawal should have been accepted and reversed his conviction, which paved the way for the trial.
Schlienz said he had no warnings that his son might harm others.
“I apologize to everybody for this and I wish to God it hadn’t happened,” Gary Schlienz said.
Schlienz said he didn’t know how his son could obtain a gun. He said that when he initially pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct in 2006, he went to his son’s home, took his guns, and put them in a safe in his home.
Schlienz said he checked the guns today, and none were taken.

In addition, the report at the St. Paul Pioneer Press (which can't be linked on FR) includes the following:

Court officials told the Duluth News Tribune that Cook County Attorney Timothy Scannell was one of the victims. A spokeswoman at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth told the Associated Press that Scannell was in stable condition Thursday night and being treated for gunshot wounds.
The condition of the victim hospitalized in Grand Marais was unknown.
*** John Kostouros, communications director for the Minnesota Judicial Branch, said he was told that the shooting occurred after a guilty verdict was returned in a case presided over by 6th Judicial District Judge Mark Munger of Duluth. Kostouros said neither Munger nor courtroom staff was injured.
He said he was told the shooting took place near County Attorney Scannell's office. Scannell was listed on the court calendar as the prosecutor in the Schlienz case. He said he was told that the shooting didn't occur in the courtroom.
*** The younger Schlienz had been a professional fighter for trainer Chuck Horton in the early 2000s, Horton told the News Tribune. Horton said Schlienz was his first professional fighter, but he fired him over concerns that he had about how he treated women.
"My instincts said 'something's not right and I do not want him around any of the girls that I know,' " Horton said.
Horton said he was going to testify about Schlienz's behavior in the trial, but was called Wednesday by the prosecuting attorney that his testimony was being blocked.
Cook County Commissioner Fritz Sobanja told the AP that the two-story courthouse doesn't have metal detectors, and he didn't believe visitors were searched before entering the building.

Update:

A hospital official says the two men hospitalized after being shot in a courthouse in northern Minnesota are improving.
Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell and Grand Marais resident Gregory Thompson were among four people shot Thursday afternoon. The suspect had just been convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Scannell and Thompson are hospitalized at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth.
Hospital spokeswoman Beth Johnson says 45-year-old Scannell was shot three times. She says he underwent surgery Thursday night and was in fair condition this morning.
She says 53-year-old Thompson was listed in fair condition Thursday and upgraded to good condition today.
The other two victims were treated for minor injuries.

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