(REUTERS) - A man arrested for climbing a White House wall earlier this year was shot and killed at a suburban Pennsylvania courthouse on Tuesday after he sliced a sheriff's deputy with a knife, the local district attorney said.

Curtis Smith, 34, is accused of entering the lobby of the Chester County Justice Centre at about 11am and slashing a sheriff's deputy on the arm or hand, Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said in a statement.

A second deputy in the lobby drew his weapon and shot Smith, who was treated at the scene but later died at Paoli Hospital, Hogan said. The injured deputy was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition.

Smith, from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, has a criminal record that includes arrests for assault and burglary. He was arrested in March for climbing a stone wall at the outer perimeter of the White House.

The courthouse, which was evacuated after gunshots rang out, will be closed for the rest of the day.