Defendant dies from gunshot wound after rushing judge in Person County courthouse
A defendant shot Thursday in the Person County courthouse died from his injuries.
Christopher Thomas Vaughan, 35, was shot in the head after rushing a Person County judge following a guilty verdict.
Vaughan had become enraged following the verdict and had tried to grab a deputy’s gun, officials said.
According to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the incident, a Roxboro police officer fired the shot that hit Vaughan. The officer’s name has not been released.
A Person County sheriff’s deputy and a Roxboro police officer were injured in the incident, suffering a head gash and a broken hand, respectively. The SBI said both were treated at a hospital and released.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, whose office is also investigating the incident, said Vaughan died Thursday night.
Person County Sheriff Dewey Jones said the incident happened around noon Thursday at the courthouse in Roxboro.
Louisburg attorney Boyd Sturges said Vaughan was charged with false imprisonment after being accused of trying to coerce a woman from a Walmart.
Sturges said Vaughan threw a chair and ran for the judge’s bench and that two deputies subdued the large man.
At one point, he said, Vaughan tried to grab a deputy’s gun.
The Person County District Attorney’s Office had employees in the courtroom, District Attorney Mike Waters said, which is why the Wake County district attorney and the SBI are reviewing the incident, he said.
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This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 1:36 PM.