Man charged with killing a police officer

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 in Monday afternoon’s shooting in McKeesport, about 20 kilometers south of Pittsburgh.

Officers were called to his home just after noon on Monday over an argument with a man who police said was experiencing a “mental crisis”. He refused to speak to them and left the house, and officers were warned by a family member that he might be armed.

When police encountered him nearby, “suddenly he pulled out a pistol and shot the two McKeesport officers dead,” said Christopher Kearns, the county’s chief of police. 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 gunfight, Morris rounded a corner and fired at 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 pulled them over, told them police were trying to kill him and asked them to record video. They said they saw a police cruiser pull up and another officer approach on foot, and then they saw Morris draw a pistol and fire at the squad car and the officer.

Morris, who suffered a leg injury from return fire, ran to a parking lot and told two people he was shot and needed help, authorities said. A witness who put a tourniquet on his leg reported that Morris pulled out a pistol and pointed it at an approaching officer, after which the final exchange of fire ensued, authorities said.

Court documents list no defense attorney for Morris; The county’s public defender’s office said it did not represent him immediately and a message could not be left at a number listed for his address.

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