CNN
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The resident of a home that opened fire when deputies tried to serve an eviction notice has died after an hours-long standoff, Pittsburgh authorities said Wednesday.
“The subject of this incident was pronounced dead by @PghEMS at 5:08pm EST,” public safety officials posted on Twitter Wednesday afternoon.
Seven deputies went to evict a man from a home in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood Wednesday, and minutes passed before they made contact with him, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Krause said at a Wednesday evening news conference.
The man opened fire, and deputies took cover, then returned fire, the sheriff said.
After a four-and-a-half-hour standoff, authorities said the suspect was dead. “We believe the suspect was neutralized during the gunfight,” said Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Sirotto.
Pennsylvania State Police Dead gunman identified As William Hardison Sr.
During the confrontation, the suspect fired shots at law enforcement through first- and second-floor windows and walls, authorities said. Authorities said the suspect also shot down police drones.
“As the investigation continues, we’ll learn a lot more about him, the house, the family and the potential problems or instability that we (faced) today and what led to that,” Sirotto said.
said Chris Wilkinson, who was visiting family in the area CNN affiliate KDKA Deputies knocked on the suspect’s door and announced themselves before kicking in the door and then using a sledgehammer to try to knock the door down. That’s when he told KDKA he heard the footage.
The sheriff said the detail of the seven officers was larger than normal, but “we have no information that this individual is particularly dangerous or that there were any firearms in the home.”
A deputy had to get stitches in his head when he was injured in a struggle for cover, the sheriff said.
After the shooting, police evacuated nearby residents and warned others to stay away from the area.
“Avoid the 4800 block of Broad Street and N. Matilda Street in the Garfield neighborhood due to an active shooter situation,” Pittsburgh Public Safety tweeted.
A neighbor who lived across the street from the shooting told the CNN affiliate WPXI Her house has bullet holes.
Officers knocked on the door, she said, “and when they walked in, I heard him shoot. And then it was a barrage of bullets.
“I … tried to go down to the basement, but the bullets were so close that I was locked in my work office,” he told WPXI by phone. “After that, I was able to make it and crawl to the basement.”
I don’t know how long she’ll be gone. “I’m huddled in a corner in this basement because every time I move, there’s a barrage of bullets,” he said.
More than an hour after the blockade began, officials said they were dealing with the blockade.
“Our first goal is to make sure everyone evacuates the area … especially (who) may still be trapped inside homes like they were this morning,” Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Rocco Cagliardi told KDKA.
During his interview, gunshots could be heard in the background.
The FBI said it was assisting local authorities, but deferred further comment to Pittsburgh police and the sheriff’s office.
