The top administrator in Kaufman County, where District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were killed over the weekend, says he is "certain" he and other officials are being protected.
"We're very much on alert. We obviously have some folks who are out to do harm to elected officials. So we take that very seriously in our jobs. I have great confidence that we're being protected in our courthouse today," Kaufman County Judge Bruce Wood said in a news conference Monday morning.
Wood declined Monday to discuss details but acknowledged extra security is in place at the county courthouse where District Attorney Mike McLelland worked. McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found shot to death in their home Saturday.
"We're still in shock, I guess is the best way to describe our feelings about this latest incident. I've searched all weekend to think of the right word to describe and I can't come up with a single word. Unbelievable. This really didn't happen. But it did," Wood said. "I mean this, this whole thing is shocking to all of us."
Assistant prosecutor Mark Hasse was gunned down just two months ago outside the courthouse.
"This is not just a random act. It would seem to me that there has to be some connection ... in my way of thinking. I do know, based on what I've been told ... they have found no physical evidence that links the murders of Mr. & Mrs. McLelland with the murder of Mark Hasse. Now that may not mean anything. But it's my understanding they've found no evidence that links the two. But, I mean this just ... this has to be more than a coincidence I would think," Wood said.
Officers were seen patrolling one side of the building Monday morning, while others walked around inside.
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McLelland's office is closed Monday. The judge says officials will meet with members of McLelland's staff later in the day to help get a feel for what their needs are.
