3 more slained officers

[Jiro]

3 officers slain responding to call, Pittsburgh police chief says

(CNN) -- Three Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police officers became the first department fatalities since 1995 Saturday morning while responding to a domestic dispute call, Police Chief Nathan Harper said.

"We have never had to lose three officers in the line of duty at one time at one call," Harper said.

Suspect Richard Poplawski surrendered around 11 a.m. outside the Stanton Heights home he shares with his mother after a standoff that lasted nearly four hours and left two more officers injured.

Wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with an AK-47, a long rifle and a pistol, Poplawski fired about 100 rounds during the standoff, Harper said. VideoWatch officers respond at the scene »

Poplawski was taken into custody after surrendering to law enforcement. He is expected to face charges of homicide, aggravated assault and other related offenses, Harper said.

Officer Paul Sciullo III, a 14-year veteran of the department, was the first to approach the home after responding to the scene around 7:05 a.m. He was shot in the head as he entered the doorway.

When Officer Stephen Mayhle tried to help his fellow officer, he too was shot in the head, Harper said.

Officer Eric Kelly, who rushed to the scene on his way home after finishing his shift, was fatally shot as he attempted to assist his fallen colleagues, Harper said.

The shootings triggered a standoff between Poplawski, who was shooting from his bedroom window, and law enforcement agencies from several jurisdictions, Harper said.

Poplawski opened fire at an Army SWAT vehicle that arrived around 8:30 a.m., preventing them and medics from reaching the wounded policemen.

Officer Timothy McManaway also was shot in the hand, the chief said. Another officer, Brian Jones, broke his leg while trying to get over a fence while securing the rear of the house, he said.

Some neighbors were evacuated during the standoff. Neighbors reported that the family had caused trouble before and Harper said police had responded to calls from the home two or three times.

 

[Bottesini]

That is terrible. I feel so sorry for the families.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

Three officers die in US shooting

Three police officers have been killed by a gunman in Pittsburgh - the second mass shooting in the US in 24 hours.

The officers were responding to an emergency call from the house of the gunman, named as Richard Poplawski, 23.

Police said he was waiting, armed with rifles and a bulletproof vest. He shot two officers as they entered the house, and a third who tried to help them.

He then traded gunfire with police for four hours before being injured and giving himself up.

His friends said he had recently lost his job, and was worried that US President Barack Obama was about to ban guns.

The shooting comes a day after a gunman killed 13 people in New York state.

'Lying in wait'

In a televised press conference, Pittsburgh police chief Nathan Harper said it was a "very sad day" for the city.

WEEK OF SHOOTINGS

• Sat 4 April: Gunman kills three policemen in Pittsburgh before being wounded and captured
• Fri 3 April: Gunman kills 13 people at an immigration centre in Binghamton, New York state, then apparently shoots himself
• Sun 29 March: Gunman kills seven elderly residents and a nurse at a nursing home in Carthage, North Carolina, then is shot and wounded himself
• Sun 29 March: Man kills five relatives and himself in Santa Clara, California

"Our hearts and our prayers go out to the officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

Mr Poplawski was armed with two rifles, a pistol and a lot of ammunition, the authorities said.

Mr Harper said the emergency call had been made by the gunman's mother, who had apparently stayed in the basement of the house during the whole incident.

He said the gunman had been "lying in wait", and the first two officers who reached the house were shot in the head as they entered.

'Stockpiled food and guns'

Witnesses described how the officers who arrived after the shooting could not reach their stricken colleagues.

One neighbour, Don Sand, told the Associated Press: "They couldn't get the scene secure enough to get to them. They were just lying there bleeding.

"By the time they secured the scene enough to get to them it was way too late."

Police chief Nathan Harper on the shootings

Edward Perkovic, who said he was close to Mr Poplawski, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette how his friend had called him on his mobile phone during the incident, saying he had been shot in the leg and the chest.

Mr Perkovic said Mr Poplawski told him: "Eddie, I'm going to die today. Tell your family and friends I love them. This is probably the end."

Then there was a burst of gunfire and the call ended, Mr Perkovic said.

Another man who said he was a friend of Mr Poplawski, Aaron Vire, told the newspaper: "He said he'll be ready if there's ever an invasion of the United States and that he had stockpiled foods and guns for that eventuality."

Mr Poplawski has been charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and a weapons violation.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Three officers die in US shooting

Oh my dear, *sigh sadly*

 

[Calvin]

^^ I don't know how the article missed about the Oakland shooting that killed 4 police officers 2 weeks ago?

 

[Cheri]

What a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the officers families

And Liebling, I've heard what happened in New York on Friday, I thought 14 people were killed but 13? I assume wrong. My heart goes out to the families.

 

[Jiro]

Urinating dog triggered argument resulting in 3 officers' deaths

(CNN) -- Three Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police officers were shot to death while responding to a 911 call of a domestic argument triggered by a urinating dog, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

The officers were the first department fatalities since 1995, according to the department.

Police said following the shootings Saturday that Richard Poplawski, 22, would be charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. Poplawski, who was shot in the leg during a four-hour standoff with police, was hospitalized at an undisclosed location, police said.

Details of the incident were included in the police complaint seeking an arrest warrant for Poplawski. The complaint says Margaret Poplawski called 911 about 7 a.m. Saturday to report that her son was "giving her a hard time." VideoWatch officers respond at the scene »

She told police she awoke to discover that "the dog had urinated on the floor," and awakened her son "to confront him about it."

The two had an argument, and Margaret Poplawski told her son she was calling police to remove him from her home, according to the complaint. When officers Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III arrived, she opened the door and let them in.

"Mrs. Poplawski reported that as the officers entered approximately 10 feet into the residence, she heard gunshots, turned and saw her son about six feet away with a long rifle in his hands, at which point she fled downstairs after asking him, 'What the hell have you done?'" the complaint said.

Margaret Poplawski reported she stayed in the basement during the standoff, and heard her son yell, "Yeah, I've been shot," and "I'm standing down, come in and help me," according to the complaint.

Police Chief Nathan Harper identified the dead officers as Eric Kelly, Mayhle and Sciullo. Kelly was a 14-year veteran of the department; the other two had worked there for two years each. VideoWatch prayers for fallen officers »

The chief said Sciullo was the first to approach the home, and was shot in the head as he entered the doorway. When Mayhle tried to help his fellow officer, he also was shot in the head. Kelly arrived at the scene and was shot before he could aid the other two officers, Harper said.

Harper said the suspect fired from a bedroom window, shooting at an armored vehicle carrying a SWAT team -- preventing those officers and medics from reaching the wounded policemen.

Two other officers, Timothy McManaway and Brian Jones, were injured. McManaway was shot in the hand and Jones, who was trying to secure the rear of the house, broke his leg trying to get over a fence, Harper said.

Rescue units from other jurisdictions also were met with gunfire, the chief said.

McManaway told police he responded to the scene after a report that officers were being fired upon, according to the complaint. As he arrived, he saw that Kelly was "lying supine" by his personal SUV, as Kelly had just completed his shift and apparently was on his way home when he responded to help the other officers.

Kelly raised his arm for help, and McManaway said he ran to Kelly, who was wounded and said he could not breathe. As he was trying to help Kelly, shots rang out from the home, injuring his hand, he said, according to the complaint.

McManaway returned fire, and told authorities he pulled Kelly behind the SUV, where the two remained until SWAT officers arrived. Kelly was taken to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.

Margaret Poplawski told police her son had enlisted in the Marine Corps a few years ago, but was discharged for assaulting his drill sergeant in basic training, according to the complaint. Since his discharge, she told police, he had been "stockpiling guns and ammunition, buying and selling the weapons online, because he believed that as a result of the economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society. Mrs. Poplawski reported that her son only liked police when they were not curtailing his constitutional rights, which he was determined to protect," the complaint said.

Autopsies showed that Kelly died of gunshot wounds to the trunk and lower extremities, Sciullo died from gunshot wounds to the head and trunk, and Mayhle was shot in the head, the complaint said.

"We have never had to lose three officers in the line of duty on one call," Harper, the police chief, said. "They have paid the ultimate sacrifice."

Authorities believe Poplawski, wearing a bullet-proof vest, aimed more than 100 rounds at police, using an AK-47, Harper said Saturday.

Harper said some neighbors were evacuated during the standoff.

Police had responded to calls from the home two or three times previously, Harper said.

so 3 cops died over some domestic argument about urinating dog... Just remember - cops are not constitutionally required to help you but they still do come and they're not complaining. makes you think twice about fingerpointing and raising hell about Officer Powell, huh?

 

[moonflower]

sighs it had gone too far now with all the shootings across US and now this in PA with stupid aguement with the dog urinating in the house RME.
this man is INSANE!!!!!!!!!

 

[Babyblue]

I am totally sadden by this!!

I am just surprised by the fact the second officer running to the first officer, knowing the shooter has shot him! And what even surprises me more is the fact the third officer went behind the second one!!

I feel officers do try to protect and serve! But this was a domino effect, that could have been prevented, with the right training!

 

[Cheri]

makes you think twice about fingerpointing and raising hell about Officer Powell, huh?

That's a whole different situation, so get over it, Jiro.

 

[diehardbiker]

His (Suspect) next residence will be permanetly at Graterford State prison... Over dog pissing? Sad and stupid