Marxist attacks Georgia Courthouse.

[Razgovory]

A man armed with explosives and an assault rifle might have entered a north Georgia courthouse Friday if not for a deputy who was wounded in the shootout with the gunman, Forsyth County Sheriff Duane Piper said.

Authorities killed Dennis Marx outside the courthouse, Piper said during a news conference, adding that the gunman planned to wreak more havoc once inside the building.

"Mr. Marx's intention was to get in that front door and take hostages," he said. Authorities don't know why.

A witness' video shows officers, guns drawn, closing in on a silver Nissan SUV on a wide walkway in front of the courthouse. Orange smoke spews from a device near the vehicle.

A shot rings out, then another. Two more shots are fired before a 15-second torrent of gunshots. Dozens of officers then surround the vehicle, as three construction workers peek out from behind their backhoe at a construction site across the street.

Piper said the suspect began a "full frontal assault" on the building by driving up, throwing out "homemade spike strips" to delay any police response, and trying to run over a deputy, Piper said.

The deputy opened fire, and Marx returned fire through his windshield, hitting the deputy in the leg, the sheriff said. He also threw smoke bombs and gas grenades -- perhaps using pepper gas -- during the attack and had flex ties and water in his possession, according to the sheriff. Other explosive devices and "a lot of ammunition" were found on him and in his vehicle, he said.

Deputies, some from inside the courthouse, engaged in a roughly 90-second shootout with Marx, killing him, Piper said.

"The SWAT team, which happened to be close by on their way to another function, also pulled up about 30 seconds into this gunfire fight and they engaged Mr. Marx, and Mr. Marx is dead with multiple gunshot wounds," the sheriff said.

The wounded deputy, who has not been identified, was shot while stopping Marx before he could get inside. The sheriff said later Friday afternoon that the deputy underwent surgery for fractures to his fibula and tibia in the lower leg, injuries he described as non-life threatening.

The situation "was solved (with) that deputy's actions," Piper said of the 30-year veteran.

"He had been in the courthouse for a good part of his time, and part of his duties were to sweep the outside of the courthouse and he happened to have been out there doing that when Mr. Marx came up," the sheriff said.

Marx was scheduled to attend a hearing at the Forsyth County Courthouse on Friday, where he was expected to enter a plea on a drug-related charge, a news release said.

"He came prepared to stay a while," the sheriff said. "We don't know who he was coming to the courthouse for, but with the flex ties and the restraining devices he had with him ... we have to assume that he was there to occupy the courthouse."

As of 4 p.m., authorities still hadn't gone into Marx's home, which Piper said they expect is booby trapped in the expectation that law enforcement might enter. A preliminary investigation indicates Marx had not been there in about 10 days.

A no-fly zone was in effect as a bomb squad worked to secure Marx's home in Cumming, which is about 35 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. The FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were assisting. At least two agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of them a certified explosives specialist, were also on the scene, said ATF spokeswoman Regina Milledge.

The Forsyth County sheriff said there's no indication right now that the suspect's family was involved in the apparent plot.

As to Marx himself, authorities haven't offered much detail.

He did once work at the Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency that oversees airport security, a U.S. official said. Marx began working at TSA on October 20, 2002, according to the official, and it's believed he was out in either 2003 or 2004

[Caliga]

Neat, I was just in Cumming two weeks ago.

I suggested to Princesca that they should rename Cumming, GA to Dropping Fucking Loads, GA.  She just rolled her eyes though.

[alfred russel]

Neat, I was just in Cumming two weeks ago.

I suggested to Princesca that they should rename Cumming, GA to Dropping Fucking Loads, GA.  She just rolled her eyes though.

Weren't we supposed to meet up?

There was a time when a marxist attack would send right wingers into a frenzy. Now they are disappointed it isn't an islamist attack.

[Norgy]

I'm surprised the West has Marxists outside of professors in their dotage, and especially that some actually take up arms. 

[mongers]

Yes this is how many tea party members now see Sherman's march to the sea.

[Savonarola]

Neat, I was just in Cumming two weeks ago.

I suggested to Princesca that they should rename Cumming, GA to Dropping Fucking Loads, GA.  She just rolled her eyes though.

They should change the name to ga cumming.

The even is hardly a surprise since cummings insisted he was not a capitalist.

[Caliga]

Weren't we supposed to meet up?

Were we? 

It would have been weird since I spent the entire time tethered to my parents and my great aunt and uncle, though.