A gunshot that rang outside the Dimond Courthouse late this morning has left one woman dead and rattled nerves in the heart of the Capitol City.
Reports of the shooting came in just after 11 a.m. today. Police think 34-year-old Miranda Ellen Davison shot herself in the chest with a handgun. No one else was hurt.
Davison was in the news last year after taking a hatchet to flat screen televisions at Juneau’s Wal-Mart.
At a related court hearing in May, prosecuting attorney James Scott spoke about her state of mind. Scott said it was “highly likely” her actions were the result of suffering from “an emotional or psychiatric disorder,” The Juneau Empire reported.
Court records show Davison’s public defender asked for a competency evaluation. That evaluation is confidential. Davison eventually pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge in the case.
Several first responders performed what appeared to be chest compressions on Davison at Monday’s scene.
The courthouse, which has a security checkpoint and a metal detector at its public entrance, took additional security measures after the shooting. Across the street in the Capitol, lawmakers in the House cleared their chambers as the news spread. Several nearby schools also took additional security measures.
Authorities cordoned off Fourth Street between the Dimond Courthouse and the Alaska Capitol after reaching the scene. The street was reopened before noon.
Jeremy Hsieh is the deputy managing editor of the KTOO newsroom in Juneau. He’s a podcast fiend who’s worked in journalism since high school as a reporter, editor and television producer. He ran Gavel Alaska for 360 North from 2011 to 2016, and is big on experimenting with novel tools and mediums (including the occasional animated gif) to tell stories and demystify the news. Jeremy’s an East Coast transplant who moved to Juneau in 2008.
