State police: Trooper fatally shoots armed Butler County man

A Butler County man shot by a state trooper has died after being flown to a Pittsburgh hospital Tuesday, state police said.

Walter Wiemann, 73, barricaded himself in a house on Nursery Road in Franklin Township just before noon. Investigators said he was making threats to himself, others and police.

Troopers surrounded the house and made numerous calls trying to talk to the man, said Trooper Ron Kesten of the Butler state police barracks.

“He never answered,” Kesten said.

A state police special emergency response team was called.

In the late afternoon, the SERT team approached the house.

The man was outside, Keston said, and “raised his rifle and aimed at a trooper and the trooper fired. The round struck the man.”

Wiemann was pronounced dead at UPMC Presbyterian at 4:52 p.m., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.

No one else was injured.

Staff writers Jamie Martines and Renatta Signorini contributed. Chuck Biedka is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chuck at 724-226-4711, cbiedka@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ChuckBiedka.