January 4, 2010 -- Threats to federal judges and prosecutors have jumped dramatically,according to a new government report issued Monday that found such threats more than doubled in the past six years.

By coincidence, the report was issued shortly before a gunman walked into a federal building in Las Vegas and opened fire, killing a court security officer and seriously wounding a deputy U.S. marshal.The suspect was shot dead by other officers, and the motive for the attack wasn't immediately clear.

The report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine concluded there are still major gaps in reporting and responding to threats. Concerns about security for judges intensified five years ago after the husband and mother of a federal judge in Chicago were killed by a man angry over a court ruling.

Between 2003 and 2008, the number of threats and inappropriate communications jumped from 592 to 1,278, the report found. The government defines "inappropriate communications" as messages that aren't explicitly threatening but worrisome enough to require further investigation.

The federal court system has more than 2,000 judges and more than 5,000 prosecutors.

Prosecutors and judges "do not consistently and promptly report threats they receive," the inspector general's report found -- estimating that as many as 25 percent of threats are not reported to security officials.

When those threats are reported, the U.S. Marshals do not consistently coordinate with local police, and in many cases don't record ever having notified the FBI of the threats.

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