Golden Sun eXtra Your Local News Source, Mohave County, AZ

While driving thru Las Vegas on Monday to a doctor appointment, we noticed helicopters hovering over the downtown area. It seems the man who opened fire at the federal courthouse was upset about cuts to his Social Security benefits, officials said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Johnny Lee Wicks, 66, was killed in a shootout with officers shortly after 8 a.m.

Court records show Wicks sued the Social Security Administration in 2008, but the case was thrown out and formally closed in September 2009.

Wicks lived at the Sunrise Senior Village Apartments in Las Vegas. A manager told FOX5 that federal agents had been to the complex to question him about Wicks.

Las Vegas firefighters also reported a fire in one of the apartment Monday morning, about two hours before the shooting. Wicks reportedly set his house on fire before engaging in the shooting.

The shooting began after the gunman, dressed in black and armed with a shotgun, stormed the entrance of the Lloyd D. George Federal Building. A court security officer was killed and a deputy U.S. marshal was injured during the shootout.

The gunman ran from the building as seven officers returned fire. His body was found in some bushes across the street.

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