Nation : Incident No Threat to Judge

A window shattered in a car carrying a U.S. appeals judge under federal protection today, but officials said it apparently was caused by a freak accident and not a gunman.

Local police had earlier reported a drive-by gunman shot the judge’s window out about 9:50 a.m., triggering a search for the supposed assailant by state and local police.

Stephen Boyle, spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in Washington, said reports by Gwinnett County police that U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. L. Edmondson was shot at were inaccurate and a “gross distortion” of the facts.

Boyle said federal investigators at the scene now believe the window in Edmondson’s car simply shattered.