FBI Offers $25,000 Reward in Judge’s Shooting

The FBI offered a $25,000 reward Friday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men responsible for shooting U.S. District Judge Terrence Berg.

The FBI, meanwhile, continued hunting for the men, approximately 18-25 years old who apparently tried to rob the federal judge outside his Detroit home late Thursday.

The FBI would not discuss the search or Berg’s medical condition after he was shot in the leg, but his injury is not believed to be life-threatening.

The shooting does not appear to be related to Berg’s job or his career as a federal prosecutor, the FBI said.

Berg is a hero who protected his family from robbers and a possibly worse fate, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Friday.

“True to his character, Judge Berg heroically protected his family by refusing to let the robbers inside his home,” McQuade told The News.

“He took a bullet in the leg, but possibly spared his family from a worse outcome. All of his friends and former colleagues at the U.S. Attorney’s Office are rooting and praying for him for a speedy and full recovery.”

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The entire incident lasted about 30 seconds and came as Berg was getting his trash cans outside. The two came up from behind and asked to be let in the house. Berg told them he couldn’t do that and he was shot, a person briefed on the matter said.

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“He was walking up this path here and someone approached him, and I don’t know why,” said Berg’s wife, Anita Sevier, in an interview with WWJ-AM (950).

“And I feel badly that somebody felt that they needed to do this. I feel for people that don’t have something else to be doing. I’m sorry that this has to happen.”

Police believe the suspects were either trying to rob Berg or strong arm him into letting them into his home. {snip}

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Sevier said she and her husband had lived in the neighborhood for 26 years and considered it safe and friendly.

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Berg was nominated by President Barack Obama to the federal bench in April 2012 and appointed to the lifetime position in December 2012.

He is assigned to the federal courthouse in Flint. He has lived in Detroit for years, a rarity among the federal judiciary in the Eastern District. Many federal judges live in some of the more exclusive suburbs outside the city.

Berg, one of the more physically active judges, is known to run through his neighborhood, said friend Peter Henning, a Wayne State University law professor and former federal prosecutor.

“He’s committed to Detroit,” Henning said late Thursday.

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