Five people have been arrested in connection with the Sunday shooting of a judge and his wife in Indiana, according to authorities.
The people taken into custody are 38-year-old Raylen Ferguson and 61-year-old Zenada Greer of Kentucky, as well as Indiana residents Thomas Moss, 43; Blake Smith, 32; and Amanda Milsap, 45, police said in a statement Thursday.
The Lafayette Police Department said the arrests were made “after a coordinated, multi-state operation involving hundreds of investigative hours.”
Ferguson, Moss and Smith face a slew of charges including attempted murder and aggravated battery. Milsap and Greer face two charges each, including obstruction of justice.
Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 Judge Steven Meyer and his wife, Kimberly Meyer, were shot at their home on Sunday, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush said. Steven Meyer suffered an injury to his arm and Kimberly Meyer sustained an injury to her hip, according to police.
They were reported to be in stable condition, and Kimberly Meyer was released from the hospital on Sunday.
According to a recording of the emergency dispatch operator, the caller who reported the shooting said there was a knock on the door, someone told them we have your dog, and then a shot came through the door.
Rush urged her colleagues to be vigilant after the shooting.
“I worry about the safety of all our judges,” she wrote in a letter. “As you work to peacefully resolve more than 1 million cases a year, you must not only feel safe, you must also be safe. Any violence against a judge or a judge’s family is completely unacceptable.”
Tippecanoe County Sheriff Robert Goldsmith told CBS News that extra security will be at the courthouse for the foreseeable future. He said they aren’t aware of any threats against the judge or others in the courthouse.
Judge Meyer said in a statement after the shooting he was “grateful for the outpouring of support from friends, the community, court colleagues, and law enforcement.”
“I want the community to know that I have strong faith in our judicial system,” he said. “This horrific violence will not shake my belief in the importance of peacefully resolving disputes. I remain confident we have the best judicial system in the world, and I am proud to be a part of it.”
Kimberly Meyer said she and her husband had “great confidence” in the Lafayette Police investigation, and she thanked the agencies involved.
“We are also incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from the community; everyone has been so kind and compassionate,” she said in a statement. “We would especially like to thank the medical personnel who provided care and assistance to us following the incident.”
Adam Harrington and
Laura Geller
contributed to this report.
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