FARGO — On Monday, May 17, after a jury found him guilty of at least one charge related to the crime, the man accused of nearly running over seven children with his SUV took his own life in a Fargo federal courtroom.
After 2 o’clock on Monday, the U.S. District Courthouse at 655 First Ave. N. was evacuated due to a reported suicide by self-cutting. During the reading of a guilty verdict, the U.S. Marshals Service verified that this occurred.
Contents
Man Cuts Own Throat in Courtroom
A witness informed Forum News Service that the jurors had already been led out of the courtroom when the defendant slit his himself.
How the weapon made it through checkpoints is a mystery. The United States Marshals Service is responsible for conducting firearm searches on all courthouse visitors.
The suspect has not been named by authorities.
A 55-year-old man named Jeffrey Sahl Ferris was slated to stand trial in a federal court in Fargo last week on accusations related to an event that took place in April 2020 on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in central North Dakota. According to court documents, he came dangerously close to hitting seven children while driving a Jeep at “extreme speeds.”
According to the Evidence Presented in Court, Ferris is not an Indigenous Person.
As court filings say, Ferris also used a 9mm handgun to commit an assault. It is unclear from the records whether or not he actually discharged the weapon. Ferris was accused of employing a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, as well as of assault with a deadly weapon, reckless endangerment, and terrorising.
Last Words
The FBI is trying to figure out what kind of weapon the man used to harm himself in court and how he managed to sneak it past the metal detectors.
Authorities confirmed that the defendant in this case entered the courthouse through the main door, which requires everyone to pass through a metal detector and may be subject to additional searches.
Additional information on the incident, according to authorities, will be made public on Tuesday.
