What police believe to be a stray bullet reportedly passed through a the second-floor chambers of U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Whitbefore it ended up lodged in a jury room at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in downtown Oakland, California.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, U.S. Marshal Don O’Keefe said in a statement that he does not believe “the courthouse, any federal judges, or members of the court family were specifically targeted,” and that “it appears that this was a stray bullet.”
Deputy U.S. Marshal Joseph Palmer, who is a spokesman for O’Keefe, said Oakland Police retrieved the bullet, which he said could have entered through a wall or a window, but declined to answer questions surrounding reports that the federal building’s windows are not bullet proof, the Chronicle notes.
Investigators are questioning whether the stray bullet could have been fired during a shooting incident around 1:30 am on Friday, when someone was shot and wounded one block away on the 1200 block of Clay Street.
“The security of federal judges and court staff remain a top priority for the U.S. Marshals, and we will continue to work alongside the courts to determine if any additional security is needed,” said O’Keefe, according to the Chronicle.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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