The Intelligencer, Scott McCloskey / AP
Local law enforcement officers secure an area in front of the Federal Buildng in Wheeling, WV, Wedneday, Oct. 9, 2013, following a shooting outside the courthouse. The U.S. Marshals Services says officers fired at the man after he shot up to two dozen rounds at the courthouse. West Virginia State Police say the man who fired the shots at a federal courthouse in Wheeling has died from police fire.
Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 | 10:48 a.m.
WHEELING, W.Va. — Neighbors of a former police officer who fired at a federal courthouse in West Virginia before being killed say the man had recently revealed he had cancer.
Security remained tight at the courthouse in Wheeling on Thursday while investigators tried to find out why the man fired up to two dozen shots at the building before officers returned fire and killed him.
Wheeling Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger identified the gunman as 55-year-old Thomas J. Piccard, of Bridgeport, Ohio. He was a former Wheeling police officer who left the force in 2000.
While investigators have yet to reveal a motive, trailer park residents Mahlon Shields and Lori LeMasters said Piccard had disclosed in the past few days that he had stomach cancer.
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