Wake County courthouse shooting raises safety concerns among attorneys
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A woman charged with attempted murder in a shooting involving two lawyers near the Wake County Courthouse will remain held without bond, as questions emerge about her mental health and the safety of legal professionals.
Gwendolyn White faces attempted murder charges in connection with the incident.
On Tuesday, her attorney filed a motion questioning her competence to stand trial, raising broader concerns about mental health and security for lawyers who work in and around the courthouse.
"I've spent my entire career up and down Fayetteville Street entering our courts, and thankfully I've never had to worry about violence breaking out," former U.S. Attorney Michael Easley Jr. said.
Authorities said White had been involved in an ongoing legal dispute with the Town of Rolesville. She allegedly became irate during a hearing related to the case, left the courthouse, retrieved a gun, and then returned and shot two attorneys representing the town.
Those lawyers are expected to recover. For Easley and others in the legal community, the shooting was both shocking and a reminder of potential risks.
"You never be too careful, you can never be too safe," Easley said. "And we know that these disputes can get heightened and that tempers can flare, but we should never have to face violence in the course of doing our jobs."
Easley said that while bailiffs and U.S. marshals provide protection inside courtrooms, attorneys must remain vigilant outside of them.
He pointed to a personal experience from his childhood, when his father, former Gov. Mike Easley, then a prosecutor in Southport, was targeted by a man he had helped convict on drug trafficking charges.
"During the time that my father was elected district attorney, we had a hit man with the job, my mother as well as my father, and that was part of his job taking on some of the worst drug traffickers in the state at the time," Easley said.
Law enforcement intervened in that case after an undercover agent posed as the hitman and stopped the plot. In the current case, White's attorney claims she has made statements that raise concerns about her mental state, including allegations that she and her late mother were poisoned, that she was asked to provide schematics of the Pentagon, and that she has no memory of the alleged shooting.
Easley said such claims could lead to a court-ordered evaluation, but do not necessarily mean the case will not proceed.
"You would see a referral to a care provider who would provide whatever treatment to see that person's competency restored, and then they would be competent to stand trial, and the case would be able to proceed," he said.
As the legal process continues, Easley emphasized the importance of maintaining confidence in the justice system.
"If we let people intimidate us and cause us to stand down, then we will have allowed our system of justice to fail," he said.
In a statement, the law firm employing the injured attorneys said they are expected to recover and thanked those who responded to the incident.
"We are doing everything possible to support them. We are grateful to the first responders and courthouse personnel who acted quickly to come to their aid," the firm said.
