Fla. Man Who Allegedly Carried Semi-Automatic and 133 Rounds to Traffic Court Now Faces New Case
All was seemingly routine at a security checkpoint at the Broward County Southern Regional Courthouse in Hollywood, Fla., earlier this week.
But security footage linked to a Pulp post shows multiple officers suddenly converging in an aggressive formation there after they apparently spotted some of the 133 rounds 39-year-old Francois Brown was allegedly carrying to his traffic hearing, according to WSVN. The Pulp is a blog of the New Times of Broward and Palm Beach.
Brown also was allegedly armed with a 40-caliber semi-automatic pistol. A press release from the sheriff’s office provides additional details.
Asked by authorities what he’d had in mind, he told a confused tale of instructions he received by making clicking noises in his own throat. “He made mention of a countdown that was counting down to some unknown bad thing,” Broward Sheriff’s Office Detective Meghan Brooks told the station. “I asked him if he planned on shooting people in the courthouse. He said he didn’t plan on it, but that if directed to, he would have done it, depending on the situation.”
Brown is now jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail on charges of armed trespass, impersonating a law enforcement officer and carrying a concealed firearm.
His family said he is a military veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The court’s chief judge and the sheriff are calling for increased security measures at this courthouse and others, at a potential cost of $17 million, reports the Miami Herald.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Distraught Litigant in Fla. Courthouse Aims Gun at Own Head Before Judge Talks Him Into Giving Up”
ABAJournal.com: “Judge Says Courthouse Shooter’s Assault Rifle Jammed as He Pulled the Trigger, Saving 3 Women”
