A judge in Mississippi has been shot and critically wounded outside a courthouse, police said.
Chancery Judge Charlie Smith was ambushed outside the Lauderdale County Courthouse in downtown Meridian Monday morning.
Judge Smith was shot as he was getting out of his truck to go inside the courthouse when the shooting happened, Meridian Police Lt. Rita Jack said.
Investigators had no immediate suspect or description of a vehicle which might have been involved, Jack told The Meridian Star. 
Police planned to review surveillance video of the area.
The judge was taken to a hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound near his abdomen. Police believe one shot was fired, Jack said.
‘We are working with the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office to get video surveillance and we’re hoping to get a break soon in this case,’ said Jack.
At a meeting later Monday, Chancery Judge Larry Primeaux said Smith had emerged from surgery and was expected to be transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.

‘Judge Smith is a decent, fair person and he certainly did not deserve this,’ said Judge Primeaux, who has known Smith for decades.
‘It’s simply a tragedy and it’s something we can’t tolerate in this society, and we really do need to look at what proper security should be for judges and other personnel at the courthouse in Lauderdale County.’
Smith’s district includes Lauderdale and Clarke counties.
Among subjects that chancery judges in Mississippi handle are divorces, child custody cases, adoptions and guardianships.
Smith became a judge in January 2019 after more than 20 years as a youth court and county court prosecutor.

Meridian Police Lt. Rita Jack said Judge Smith, [seen left at his swearing in, Jan, 2019],  was shot in the lower abdomen when he was getting out of his truck to go inside the courthouse parking lot on Monday.