Update 05/09/13 at 12:14 pm EST: The jury has now been returned to the courtroom after the “emergency,” which appears to have been a false alarm.
May 9, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A reporter present in the courtroom where the Gosnell case is being heard has just tweeted that the trial has been suspended after the smell of smoke was detected in the building.
Reporter JD Mullane says that the jury has been removed from the courthouse, but that media have remained behind.
It wasn't immediately clear what the cause of the smell of smoke was.
“Media at #Gosnell calmly waiting word on what the hell is going on,” tweeted JD Mullane, a columnist for the Bucks County Courier Times.
Mullane also quoted another reporter in the courtroom asking: “Can things get any more surreal?”
The jury was just about to hear a reading of testimony given by former Gosnell employee Adrienne Moton. Moton has admitted to snipping the spinal cords of Baby A and Baby D, the latter of whom another employee had testified was born alive into a toilet, and had made “swimming” motinos as if it was trying to get out.
Smell of smoke on 5th floor of Phila Crim Justice Ctr interrupts #Gosnell testimony. Jury removed. Media remain.
— jdmullane (@jdmullane) May 9, 2013
At #Gosnell, intercom announcement tells everyone to stay put and to not enter elevators or fire stairs.
— jdmullane (@jdmullane) May 9, 2013
Media at #Gosnell calmly waiting word on what the hell is going on.
— jdmullane (@jdmullane) May 9, 2013
Source of “emergency” at Crim Justice Ctr still undetermined. #Gosnell trial in Courtroom 304.
— jdmullane (@jdmullane) May 9, 2013
Reporter @ #Gosnell: “Can things get any more surreal?”
— jdmullane (@jdmullane) May 9, 2013