Two bailiffs were shot dead during a scuffle with a prisoner turned gunman inside a southwest Michigan courthouse on Monday that also wounded two people before police officers killed the shooter, a county sheriff said.

Larry Darnell Gordon, 44, fatally shot bailiffs identified as Joseph Zangaro, a retired Michigan state police lieutenant, and Ron Kienzle, a retired Benton Township police sergeant, the Detroit Free Press newspaper reported.

The shootings of the bailiffs and the deputy came four days after four Dallas police officers and a Dallas transit police officer were killed by a sniper who claimed to be motivated by the use of lethal force by police against African-Americans.

Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey told a news conference that the shooting took place at about 2:25 p.m. local time on the third floor of the St. Joseph, Michigan, courthouse.

Bailey said Gordon was a prisoner who took a gun from one of two bailiffs escorting him to a courtroom and then began shooting as he tried to escape from custody. A sheriff's deputy and civilian were also wounded, he said.