Prosecutor Helped Bailiff Disarm Alleged Courthouse Shooter, While Defense Lawyer Helped Victims
New details emerging in last week’s courthouse shooting in Northern Minnesota showcase the heroics of a bailiff and lawyers on the scene.
Assistant Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken helped bailiff Gary Radloff disarm the suspect, while defense lawyer John Lillie III of St. Paul helped the victims, escorting one of them outside the courthouse. Details from the criminal complaint are in stories by the Duluth News Tribune and WDIO.com.
The suspect, sexual misconduct defendant Daniel Schlienz, is accused of shooting 45-year-old Cook County Attorney Timothy Scannell and 53-year-old Gregory Thompson, a witness in the case against him. Both are recovering from their wounds. Contrary to initial reports, the 70-year-old bailiff, Gary Radloff, was not shot, though he was treated and released for injuries suffered in a struggle with the suspect.
Schlienz was charged Monday with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, assault, possession of a weapon by a felon, and resisting arrest, the News Tribune says.
According to the criminal complaint, Schlienz obtained a gun from his car last Thursday after he was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Schlienz is accused of returning to the courthouse and shooting Thompson and Scannell, spurring Radloff to confront him. Schlienz tried to grab Radloff’s gun, the complaint says, and Hicken joined the struggle. Schlienz allegedly fired more shots that didn’t strike anyone before Hicken and Radloff disarmed him. Sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene as Radloff was trying to pin Schlienz.
Meanwhile Lillie, who represented Schlienz in the sexual misconduct case, came to the aid of Thompson and Scannell, he told the Duluth News Tribune in a prior story and MyFox9. Lillie helped Thompson get out of the courthouse, then stayed with Scannell until help arrived.
Scannell “kept screaming that he had been shot and needed an ambulance,” Lillie recalled in the News Tribune interview. “At one time he was telling me to tell his wife that he loved her.”
