Official: Del. gunman was victim's ex-father-in-law

Law enforcement officials and investigators gather outside the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington, Del. on Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, after three people died Monday morning in a shooting at a courthouse, including the shooter, authorities said. / AP Photo

WILMINGTON, Del. A law enforcement official says the gunman in a Delaware courthouse shooting that left three dead was the ex-father-in-law of one of the victims.

The official, who had been briefed on the situation, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the gunman's identity while the investigation was continuing. The official identified the shooter as 68-year-old Thomas Matusiewicz.

Matusiewicz is the former father-in-law of Christine Belford, who police said was fatally shot Monday along with neighbor Laura Mulford. Matusiewicz exchanged gunfire with police and also died. The scene had been described as a "gunfight" earlier.

A spokesman for the Delaware Attorney General's Office, Joseph Rogalsky, declined Tuesday to confirm the shooter's identity.

CBS affiliate KYW-TV in Philadelphia reports Belford was 39 years old and from Newark, Delaware.

According to police, the alleged gunman entered the lobby of the courthouse Monday morning, pulled out a gun and opened fire -- targeting his victim. It was not immediately known if the gunman was killed by police or if it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Two Capitol police officers were wounded during the shootout and were taken to Christiana Hospital with non-life threatening injuries where they were treated and released.