Teen boy shot and killed inside courtroom after fight with deputy

A deputy fatally shot a 16 year-old-boy after a fight broke out between the officer and the boy in an Ohio courtroom during a hearing.

The New York Daily News reports that when Joseph Haynes , 16, appeared at a domestic relations courtroom in Columbus, Ohio a fight broke out between Haynes, some family members and a Franklin County deputy’s sheriff.

Franklin County Deputy Chief Rick Minerd, who investigated the shooting incident, told reporters that
Haynes was struck in the abdomen with a bullet from the deputy’s gun when the deputy was knocked to the ground during a fight.

Haynes died 30 minutes later in a nearby hospital.

It is unclear if the deputy – whose name is being withheld by authorities — actually fired the gun or the weapon was discharged accidentally.

“At some point, as the hearing was concluding, there was an altercation involving the deputy and some of the family members,” Minerd said.

“And what we have learned was the deputy was knocked to the ground as part of that altercation where he came under attack … one shot was fired..”

The incident began as Magistrate Larry Sanchez concluded a hearing involving a firearms charge against the teen and an electronic monitoring device the court had assigned him earlier, Minerd said.

In 2016, Haynes had been placed on probation for carrying a concealed weapon. A few months later, he was charged with two delinquency counts of aggravated menacing. According to prosecutors, he allegedly pointed a gun at two people and threatened to shoot them.

Haynes’ lawyer Jennifer Brisco told The Columbus Dispatch  that during the hearing, the deputy threatened to arrest Haynes after the teen became highly emotional.

“Joseph was a little out of sorts because of how things went at the hearing,” Brisco said. “The officer threatened to lock him up and a scuffle broke out. Joseph was resisting, and that’s when there was a scuffle.”

She said she backed away as a “bunch of people” tried to break up the struggle. She then heard the retort of a single gunshot as Haynes was struck in the abdomen with a bullet.

It remains unclear how many people were involved in the deadly scuffle. The shooting remains under investigation.