MSNBC

DULUTH, GA. - A 911 call from a woman who had been held hostage for hours in her own apartment ended a daylong manhunt for a rape suspect accused of shooting a judge and two others at a courthouse and then later killing an immigration agent as he eluded authorities.

The suspect, 33-year-old Brian Nichols, set off a massive manhunt in the Atlanta area after he allegedly overpowered a court deputy Friday, took her gun and fatally shot three people, including the judge on his rape case.

During the night, Nichols approached a woman as she was entering her suburban Atlanta apartment and introduced himself as a wanted man, authorities said.

“It’s my understanding that he had told her, ’If you do what I say, I won’t kill you,”’ Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan said.

The woman either escaped or was allowed to leave and called 911. A SWAT team gathered outside and Nichols turned himself in after watching the manhunt on television, Gwinnett County Police Chief Charles Walters said.

“He literally waved a white flag or a T-shirt and came out to our folks,” Walters said.

The arrest came hours after the body of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent David Wilhelm was discovered shot to death about 15 miles away at an upscale townhouse complex. His blue pickup truck, pistol and badge were missing.

FBI Spokesman Steve Lazarus said Nichols is a suspect in that shooting, and police said the truck was found at a location other than the complex where Nichols was arrested, but did not elaborate.

Nichols was taken into federal custody.

A crowd of people across the street from the apartment complex where Nichols was arrested cheered as a black sports utility vehicle drove away, escorted by multiple police cars with lights flashing and sirens on.

The killings came less than two weeks after a Chicago federal judge’s husband and mother were slain in their home, setting off a fresh round of worries about the safety of judges and others involved in the criminal justice system.

Should I say it?

Does it bother anyone else that the first thing out of the mouths of these idiot reporters is a desire to ban guns in court rooms now?

Why is it that nobody thought to ask why judges don't pack their own weapons? (In lots of places, judges DO carry discreetly. And methinks that after this, many more will start...)

Just woke up? Been duped to death already!

Just woke up? Been duped to death already!