An enraged man shot and critically wounded an opposing lawyer outside the Van Nuys courthouse Friday as news crews covering an unrelated event captured the bloody attack on videotape.
The gunman, who was tackled and wrestled to the pavement by a Traffic Court judge, was identified as William Strier, 64, of Thousand Oaks. The victim, Gerald E. Curry, 53, of Simi Valley, suffered gunshot wounds to the neck and chest. They had been scheduled to appear in a contentious probate case in Los Angeles County Superior Court shortly after the shooting.
Witnesses and news crews said the incident began around 10:20 a.m. as Strier, a portly man in a tan jacket, made his way toward the courthouse beside Curry, who was wearing a dark suit and carrying a briefcase. The men appeared to be arguing, and witnesses said Strier suddenly shoved the other man and began shouting.
"That's what you get for stealing my money," Strier yelled before he pulled a snub-nosed revolver from his jacket pocket and began firing at Curry, according to Court TV cameraman Daniel Diaz.
"The first time he shot him, he shot him twice," said witness Sunny Kang. "Everyone started running."
A group of news cameramen and reporters was assembled in the area, awaiting developments in the Robert Blake murder case. They began taping the incident after the first shots, and panned across the courthouse walkway as the victim dashed behind a small tree for cover. The gunman followed.
As in a deadly game of tag, the gunman tried repeatedly to reach around the tree and fire at the lawyer, who scrambled around the tree for protection, raising clouds of dust. After several more shots, the gunman can be seen on videotapes placing the pistol back in his pocket and turning away from the tree.
"He started walking away like nothing happened," Kang said.
As the gunman walked briskly away, eyeing the crowd from behind thick glasses, the lawyer stepped away from the tree, his arms raised at the elbows and his face smeared with blood.
"The victim seemed OK for a moment, then he collapsed to the ground," said Brian Oxman, a Court TV legal commentator.
As the gunman continued to walk from the scene with a dark bag hanging from his shoulder, cameramen walked beside him, keeping him in their view. "People turned away like nothing was wrong," Oxman said. "He didn't fool our cameraman and the police."
