The judge, Joseph Bruzzese Jr., who was involved in the Steubenville rape case, was shot yesterday outside the courthouse in Ohio. Nathaniel “Nate” Richmond was identified as the gunman and the father of Ma’lik Richmond, according to USA Today.
Ma’lik is one of the two men convicted in the rape case, which gained international attention because of a video posted on YouTube and photos that were texted to people in a West Virginia town of the victim. The judge was flown to a nearby hospital where he underwent surgery and is expected to recover from the gunshot.
Ma’lik served close to a year in a juvenile detention center after being convicted of rape in 2013. The judges have reserved parking spots near the courthouse, and this makes some believe this could have been an intentional shooting due to the outcome of the case. After Ma’lik served his time, he walked-on to the Youngstown State football team. Another student heard about this and started a petition to get him off the team and it received over 6,000 signatures. It did not get him off the team, but he will sit out of every game this season and is only able to attend practice.
According to ESPN, Nate was shot and killed by a probation officer after the judge had been shot.
The state crime lab will investigate the shooting, according to USA Today. A colleague of the judge said, “He is very intelligent and he can cut to the case. He spots issues and he resolves the issues.”