A 57-year-old Raleigh woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting two attorneys outside the Wake County Courthouse following a tense civil hearing, police said.
Police Chief Rico Boyce told reporters the incident began the morning of May 22, when Gwendolyn White became “belligerent” during a motion hearing at the downtown courthouse. Court records show White has an ongoing lawsuit against the Rolesville Police Department; the town was represented in court by attorneys Mary Harris and Jeffrey Whitley of the Fox Rothschild law firm.
After the hearing ended, White left the courthouse but returned shortly afterward in a vehicle, Boyce said. She exited the vehicle and allegedly fired at Harris and Whitley, who were found wounded outside the building. Officers on the scene immediately took White into custody and transported the victims to a local hospital. Boyce did not provide details on the victims’ conditions.
White faces two counts of attempted murder and is being held in Wake County Sheriff’s custody without bail, court records show.
The shooting forced the courthouse to close temporarily and led to street closures in downtown Raleigh. The town of Rolesville called the incident “deeply disturbing” and noted that Fox Rothschild has long represented the town. Neither the law firm nor the town responded to additional requests for comment.
We will update this story as more information becomes available