The Las Vegas courthouse shooting was an attack on January 4, 2010, in which a gunman opened fire in the lobby of the Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse in Las Vegas, Nevada. Two people were killed in the attack, including the gunman, who was identified by authorities as Johnny Lee Wicks, a 66-year-old man disgruntled over cuts to his Social Security benefits. Stanley W. Cooper, a 72-year-old court security officer, was also killed after a shotgun blast struck him in the chest. A 48-year-old deputy U.S. Marshal named Richard "Joe" Gardner was shot in the upper arm, chest, and head, with a total of eight pieces of buckshot entering his body, and hospitalized at the University Medical Center, but survived. Details Around 8 a.m., the gunman pulled a Mossberg 500 shotgun from underneath his black coat and started firing indiscriminately from outside the security areas where visitors pass through metal detectors and x-ray machines. Seven federal marshals returned fire and chased the shooter from the courthouse. As he fled, Wicks was shot in the head and died on the sidewalk in front of the Fifth Street School, a historic school that had been converted into an office building. Witnesses said about 20 shots were fired over several minutes. Authorities said Wicks was the only gunman involved in the shooting. Wicks had filed a complaint against the Social Security Administration in 2008 regarding a reduction to his benefit. After Wicks relocated from California to a Las Vegas retirement home, his Social Security benefit was reduced by $317. Social Security Administration attorneys claimed the payments were reduced because, as a Nevada resident, Wicks was no longer entitled to a (state-funded) supplement he received while living in California. However, in his complaint, Wicks claimed the reduction was because he was an African American, although he cited no evidence to support the claim. Wicks wrote, "It's all about race. I am not a fool." Wicks failed to follow the Social Security system's appeals process, and a judge threw out the case in September 2009. The nine-floor courthouse hosted offices for U.S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign. Neither senator received any credible threats before the shooting. Shortly after the shooting, a man named Nicholas Gramenos recorded a video from few blocks away during the shooting. The clip was posted on the video-sharing site YouTube under his username, "NickyFlips". Several gunshots can be heard