deborah feyerick, what else can you tell us is going on? >> according to local affiliates in berrien county, the two bailiffs, people in charge of court security and law enforcement there on-site, did confront the gunman and a shoot outoccurred. but it appears the gunman was killed. it is unclear whether the two offices who responded, what their status is. >> i wanted to add, this is not without precedent, sadly, in a courthouse. you were asking me about that earlier. fulton county, georgia, 2005, defendant got a hold of a gun. he killed a judge, killed a court reporter an two other individuals as a result after courthouse incident. i think he managed to kidnap somebody and flee from the scene as well. >> this is not without precedence sadly. >> unfortunately we will bring you much more on this breaking story. this developing story once again to recap local television reporting that at least three individuals have been killed at a courthouse in berrien county, michigan. we will have much more on the story ahead and an arsenal of weapons and

i want to get to cnn's deborah feyerick, who is following this story for us. rah, what do you have? >> we can tell you that was confirmed to us by the berrien county sheriff's office that one police officer was shot outside the courthouse. a few details right now, but we've got calls into a number of law enforcement agencies to identify exactly what happened, what the circumstances were, and who that person is that they might now be looking for who apparently shot a police officer. so it's really just beginning to break at this moment, don. >> i want you to stand by, because i need you to help us out with this, unless you get calls from your sources. but i want to bring in paul and bill. paul, cnn legal analyst and former new york city homicide prosecutor. violence at courthouses inside and out of courthouses. how often does that happen? >> it's actually sadly very, very common. when you think about a courthouse, it's the hub of dark emotions and high emotions for a community. divorce cases, murder cases, robbery cases. the victims are there. the people who com

deborah feyerick takes a look at what precautions are being taken in new york and beyond. >> reporter: after a series of deadly attacks overseas, u.s. counter terror officials heightening security measures at so-called soft targets across the country including the july fourth fireworks displays tonight. in the nation's capital, much of the dramatic increase in security will be hidden. >> we do have technology that folks will not see. >> reporter: the biggest fireworks show in america along new york city's east river with an estimated 3 million spectators has the police on high alert. >> you will see a very significantly enhanced police presence in the city. >> reporter: out on the water, officials patrolling the harbors in manhattan and controlling security docks along the macy's fire barges. >> we will have ex enceptional police presence to keep everybody safe. >> reporter: deploying 500 plus highly trained, highly armed officers ready to prevent terror. the first fourth of july the critical response team will be out in full force. >> that sends a powerful message to anyone that migh

. >> reporter: deborah feyerick is working this story. she is joining us with all she has learned. we saw that press conference a short time ago. what more have you learned? >> reporter: anderson, whether there was a split second decision or something that that inmate had been thinking about, as soon as that holding door closed behind him, he saw an opportunity and tried to escape, according to the sheriff. he grabbed the gun of one of the officers bringing him from that holding cell into a courtroom and was able to fatally shoot two of the bailiffs. the third man, sheriff's deputy, he was injured during this fight. a corrections officer is telling us he saw the inmate running down the third floor hallway. and that hallway, anderson, is where there is a civil court. it's unclear specifically what charges he was facing. the sheriff does say there were several charges for which he was appearing in front of a judge. the sheriff was clearly, clearly shaken by this shooting, because it happened inside a courthouse. he said, quote, our hearts are torn apart. they were my friends for over

cnn deborah feyerick live with more. good morning, deb.ood morning, carol. 500 officers you're talking about are highly trained, highly armed. they are ready to response to any potential terror attack. they are being deployed for the first time this july 4th, but there are going to be tens of thousands officers not just in new york but across the country. you have stepped up policing in los angeles, in chicago, in boston, philadelphia wherever there are going to be events taking place. we can tell you here on the east river, this is where the big fireworks display is going to take place. there's no credible intelligence of any sort of specific threat, but there is the threat of the unknown. and that's what law enforcement right now are planning for. they're planning for that lone individual who wants to make a statement, who wants to try to pull something off during this important day, during these celebrations. so that's what they're really on the alert more. you have security that you are going to be able to see but you have security tha

deborah feyerick is live along new york's east rivers. tell us more about what police are doing there, not just in new york but around the country for july fourth today. >> reporter: sure. absolutely. 500 officers you just referred to, they are highly trained, highly armed tactical officers that are ready to respond to a potential terror attack. they are going to be joining more than 10,000 other officers here in new york city to make sure that everything goes as expected to go. there is no credible intelligence about any sort of specific threat. it is the unknown threat that law enforcement is really concerned about, it is that one person, that one individual who wants to make a statement and do something allegedly in the name of isis. that's what they are really concerned about. that's why you have this nuanced approach to enforcement. it's not just here in new york city. it's in boston, los angeles. there is a parade in washington, d.c. security across the country is really, really tight. they understand the new normal is to be special

so deborah feyerick is on the banks of new york's east river, the site of tonight's big fireworks showfirst, generally speaking as far as threats are concerned what is new york, what are the counterterrorism units telling you? >>. >> what they're telling us is there's no credible intelligence of any specific threat but the big concern is that unknown threat. there have been some many warnings about this period of time. there have been attacks that reason going on around the world so it's what police don't know that they're try up against, essentially. so they're taking extra steps, extra precautions, layering the security. not just here in new york city. you have three million people that will come to this area or are expected to come to this area. but you have parades and celebrations going on all over the country. so police today out in full force. after a series of deadly attacks overseas u.s. counterterror officials heightening security measures at so-called soft targets across the country, including the july 4 fireworks displays tonight. >> we have a pretty tight security plan for