Texas assistant DA killed near courthouse identified as Chief Prosecutor Mark Hasse, report says

(CBS/KTVT/AP) KAUFMAN COUNTY - Officials have confirmed the identity of a Texas assistant district attorney shot and killed Thursday near the courthouse where he worked as Chief Prosecutor Mark Hasse, CBS DFW reports.

The shooting occurred just before 9 a.m. Thursday outside a building across from the main Kaufman County courthouse.

Authorities say two suspects in the shooting are now being sought.

At a Thursday. press conference, officials said Hasse was walking from the parking lot to his office when he was assaulted by an unknown person and "shot multiple times," according to CBS DFW. Hasse was then taken to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Local law enforcement officials decried the shooting as an attack on the criminal justice system.

"We understand that we may come into contact with violent people but this is the next level," Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes said at the press conference conference.

Officials didn't immediately indicate any motive for the shooting.

Mark Hasse graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1981 and had been licensed to practice law since 1982, CBS DFW reports. The 57-year-old had been a Kaufman County District Attorney since July of 2010.

More on CrimesiderJanuary 31, 2013 - Texas prosecutor killed near courthouse, report says