MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — A man faces murder and other charges for shooting and killing a police officer and wounding a second police officer after responding to a domestic disturbance call in western Pennsylvania.
Johnathan Jermi Morris – 31, of McKeesport – is charged in Allegheny County with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and attempted murder, and assaulting a law enforcement officer during the Monday afternoon shooting in McKeesport, about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Officers were called to his home just after midday on Monday to an argument with a man who police said was going through a “mental crisis”. He refused to speak to them and left the house, and officers were warned by a family member that he may have been armed.
When police encountered him nearby, “suddenly he pulled out a gun and shot the two McKeesport officers,” said county police chief Christopher Kearns. Sean Sluganski, 32, who worked for the McKeesport Police Department for two years, died in a hospital. A wounded officer was treated and discharged.
After the shooting, Morris turned a corner and shot the third officer, who returned fire. The suspect was later listed in stable condition at a Pittsburgh-area trauma center.
Authorities said in a criminal complaint that two witnesses said Morris stopped them, told them the police were trying to kill him and asked them to record a video. They said they saw a police car pull up and another officer approach on foot, then they saw Morris pull out a gun and shoot the police car and the officer.
Morris, who suffered a leg injury in a fight back, ran to a parking lot and told two people he had been shot and needed help, authorities said. A witness who put a tourniquet on his leg reported that Morris pulled out a gun and pointed it at an approaching officer, after which the final firefight ensued, authorities said.
Court documents do not name a defense attorney for Morris; The county public defender’s office said they did not immediately represent him and a message could not be left at the number listed for his address.
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