By RANDALL CHASE. The Associated Press. WILMINGTON, Del. -- A gunman, motivated by a yearslong custody dispute, opened fire yesterday morning in a courthouse lobby just as the building was opening to the public for the day, exchanging shots with police and leaving three people -- including the shooter -- dead, authorities said.. "It happened so fast," said Jose Beltran, 53, an employee at the New Castle County Courthouse who was entering the lobby when he heard two shots. He said he heard three or more shots as he turned around and ran.. Delaware State Police Sgt. Paul Shavack said the suspected gunman and two women are dead. Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams said one of the women killed was the shooter's estranged wife, but Shavack said police had not confirmed that and cautioned against information from other sources.. Shavack did not say how the gunman died. Two police officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries, he said.. Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden said at an afternoon news conference that the shooting was not a random act of violence but the result of a custody dispute.. "It's developed out of a long, over the course of many years, custody dispute in the courts of this state," he said.. Earlier, Shavack said the gunman opened fire before he passed metal detectors in the lobby.. Chick Chinski, 62, of Middletown said he was entering the courthouse to report for jury duty when he heard popping sounds. "It didn't sound like gunfire first at all," he said, adding that he saw the gunman pointing his weapon
Chinski said that earlier, he shared an elevator with the gunman and others from the parking garage. The gunman was quiet and did not appear agitated, he said.
In the hours after the shooting, dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles were on the streets surrounding the courthouse. Police searched the courthouse room by room as a precaution.
