An intense manhunt is underway in western Pennsylvania for the man suspected of fatally shooting of a police officer.
The shooting happened shortly after 8pm Friday in New Kensington, about 18 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, when a routine traffic stop turned into a foot pursuit.
At some point during the chase shots were fired, and the officer, identified as patrolman Brian Shaw, was hit. Officers haven’t said if Shaw returned fire, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Officer Shaw was rushed to Allgheny Valley Hospital where he died from his wounds.
Officer Brian Shaw was shot dead on Friday night in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, when a routine traffic stop turned into a foot pursuit
An intense manhunt has now been launched to search for the suspect in that shooting. Pictured are SWAT team members prepare to search the neighborhood where Shaw was shot
New Kensington police chief Jim Klein said in a late night press conference that Shaw had been with the department for less than a year.
Police found Shaw when they responded to a ‘shots fired’ call after he’d initially radioed in to say he was stopping a suspect.
Early Saturday officers from neighboring towns were called up to scour the area for the suspect.
SWAT teams and police dogs also joined in the effort.
Police have recovered a brown, older model Jeep Grand Cherokee wanted in connection with the shooting.
It isn’t clear what other information the force has about the suspect.
Early Saturday officers from neighboring towns were called up to scour the area for the suspect. SWAT teams and police dogs were called in to assist
New Kensington police chief Jim Klein said in a late night press conference that Shaw had been with the department for less than a year. He has implored anyone with information to come forward
Chief Klein has implored anyone who might have information about the shooter to come forward and assist in the manhunt.
‘I’m asking anybody with any information, as minute as they think it might be, please, please give us a call. We need to find the person who did this,’ he said during the press conference.
Residents in the western Pennsylvania neighborhood where the shooting happened said there has been friction in the community recently.
One resident told the Post-Gazette that a drug bust happened just last week at a methamphetamine lab just down the street.
Though Shaw was only a part of the force for a short period, people throughout the community said he had a significant impact
Shaw’s friend Allie Willhelm told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that he had always wanted to become a police officer
Though Shaw was only a part of the force for a short period, people throughout the community said he had a significant impact.
In a photo shared by WTAE reporter David Kaplan, Shaw can be seen chatting with a young boy. The boy had just gotten a pair of handcuffs and wanted to show them to a real police officer.
Shaw then spent several minutes chatting with the boy, showing him his ‘real cuffs,’ Kaplan said in the Tweet.
Shaw’s friend Allie Willhelm told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that he had always wanted to become a police officer.
Willhelm said it was all Shaw talked about since he was a teenager, and that he’d told her on a number of occasions ‘it’s my calling.’