A U.S. marshal shot and killed a defendant in a gang trial after he tried to attack a witness in a Salt Lake City courtroom.
According to CNN, Siale Angilau -- an alleged gang member on trial for racketeering and conspiracy -- was shot several times after going after someone on the witness stand.
Angilau was then transported to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead, FBI officials said.
"There were people yelling at him, telling him to stop, and he just didn't stop," Sara Josephson, who was in the courtroom, told KSTU-TV. "He kept going forward with his furiousness."
FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Dressen told the local station that Angilau grabbed a pen and charged at the witness.
"I believe he was shot in the chest multiple times," Dressen told KSTU-TV.
Perry Caldwell, another witness, told the station that one person yelled "Get on the floor!"
"He (Angilau) was falling as (the marshal) was still shooting him," Caldwell said.
The person on the witness stand was reportedly a prisoner testifying about his experience as a gang member. His name has not been released.
Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah, said Angilau was the only person shot in the courtroom.
Judge Tena Campbell declared a mistrial, noting the jurors were "visibly shaken and upset."
"The court finds that this occurrence in the courtroom would so prejudice Mr. Angilau as to deprive him of a fair trial," Campbell wrote.
A 2010 indictment claims Angilau was a member of the Tongan Crip Gang accused of committing several convenience store robberies in Salt Lake City and assaulting the stores' clerks from December 2002 to July 2007.
He was charged with other crimes, including assaulting a federal officer.
