STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — A judge walking from his car into the county courthouse was shot by a gunman Monday morning but managed to fire back before a probation officer stepped in and ultimately killed the suspect, authorities said.

Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. was shot at around 8 a.m. near the courthouse in Steubenville, just across the Ohio River from West Virginia’s northern panhandle, roughly 30 miles west of Pittsburgh.

Courthouse video showed the judge and the gunman firing about five times each, said Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla. ‘‘Whoever thought this could happen here?’’ Abdalla said, adding that investigators are familiar with the suspect and are checking to see if he had any connection with the judge.

Steubenville City Manager James Mavromatis told WTOV-TV that Bruzzese was talking after being wounded. He was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital.

Investigators didn’t immediately release further information about the judge’s condition or on the suspect. Governor John Kasich said he was told the judge would survive.

The attack had to be intentional because people know about the reserved spots where judges park, said one of Bruzzese’s judicial colleagues.

Judge Joseph Corabi said he and the county’s two other judges park in reserved spots next to the courthouse in eastern Ohio. Judges then walk a few feet down what’s known as ‘‘Courthouse Alley’’ to a side entrance to the building, said Corabi, the Jefferson County juvenile and probate court judge.

‘‘Everybody knows who parks there. That’s why it’s not an accident what happened. He was clearly an intended target,’’ Corabi said.

Corabi said Bruzzese is known as an avid hunter. He called him fair, hard-working, and well liked.