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Man ‘dressed as a ninja’ runs into courthouse causing bailiff to fire a shot

Facebook/KWQC Emma Hogg
Facebook/KWQC Emma Hogg

A man dressed as a ninja was reportedly part of a police officer-involved shooting outside of an Iowa courthouse. Only non-life threatening injuries have been reported at this time.

The Scott County Sheriff's Office confirmed the incident occurred at 9:30am local time when two courthouse bailiffs and a Davenport, Iowa, police officer confronted a suspect outside of the courthouse after a call had been made about a disturbance. One witness, Ann St Claire, told the local NBC News affiliate she “walked in the doors, we seen this guy coming from across the street and he was, I swear he was dressed like a ninja in all white with like a stick coming out from his back. It looked like a sword to me. We walked in the door and all of a sudden he just came running up to the doors behind us”.

It has not been confirmed by police what the suspect may have been doing to cause alarm and a police response but they did say in a Facebook post that the suspect was carrying a "blunt object". The situation escalated and the officer used a “less lethal” device on the suspect while one of the bailiffs discharged his firearm, police said. They gave chase to the suspect before being able to catch and arrest him.

Ms St Clair said the suspect was yelling “I’m going to get you” at someone in the courthouse, but it was unclear to whom he was referring. She said she was “scared to death” of the situation.

The suspect and one of the bailiffs were taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries. The sheriff’s office has not released any names or details of the bailiffs, officers, or the suspect.

The bailiff who discharged their firearm has been placed on suspension until a full investigation into the incident has been conducted.