Man 'lying in wait' kills 3 police officers in Stanton Heights
A heavily armed man "lying in wait" at his Stanton Heights home killed three police officers and wounded a fourth Saturday morning in the city's deadliest day ever for law enforcement, authorities said.
"It's a very sad and solemn day," Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper said during a somber news conference. "We mourn as if we are immediate family."
Harper identified the dead patrolmen as Stephen J. Mayhle, 29, and Paul J. Sciullo II, 36, both officers for fewer than two years, and Eric G. Kelly, 41, a 14-year veteran who lived nearby.
Richard Poplawski, 22, shot Sciullo and Mayhle in their heads with an assault rifle near the doorway of the Fairfield Street house he shared with his mother and grandmother just after 7 a.m., Harper said. Kelly, who responded to the call on his way home, died trying to help the fallen officers, Harper said.
Officer Timothy McManaway, a 15-year veteran, was shot in the hand. Officer Brian Jones broke his leg while scaling a fence behind the home.
Poplawski was wearing a bulletproof vest and was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, a .22-caliber rifle and a pistol, Harper said. He was shot multiple times in the leg and was in fair condition at UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland.
Poplawski faces three counts of homicide as well as aggravated assault and gun charges.
"It is truly a tragic and very sorrowful day," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said. "We will remember the three officers and the sacrifices they made."
Poplawski had been out all night drinking, got home about 6:30 a.m. and began arguing with his mother, Margaret, who called police, authorities said.
Holly Zielinski, 31, a family friend, said the argument started when Poplawski's mom complained that his dog had urinated and defecated on the floor.
The 911 call indicated that there were no weapons at the scene, Harper said. Officers responded to the home at least two or three times in the past, he said.
Margaret Poplawski, who called police to report the argument, was "holed up" in the basement during the standoff, Deputy Chief Paul Donaldson said.
Police were looking for witnesses to the first encounter between police and Poplawski.
"No officers are alive who witnessed what happened initially," Donaldson said.
"Kelly was able to put out, 'Shots fired. Officers down. Officers need assistance.'"
Sciullo and Mayhle, who were finishing overnight shifts, responded to the domestic call in separate cars. Donaldson suspects the men had no reason to believe someone would open the door and open fire.
"Apparently he was waiting for them," he said. "He met them at the doorway and began shooting. How could those officers know what was waiting on the other side of the door?"
In the ensuing four-hour standoff, Poplawski and police fired hundreds of bullets at each other, Harper and neighbors said. At one point, the SWAT team began running out of ammunition and radioed for more, Donaldson said.
Aaron Bell, 36, of Corry in Erie County stayed Friday night with friends on Oglethorpe Street, a block from the shooting. The gunfire awakened him.
"I came tearing up out of the basement and saw SWAT on the roofs, cop cars all over the street," he said.
"I looked at the house — red brick dust was just bursting off the front around that window. He was shooting out of the window and they were shooting back."
An officer's body lay on the front lawn under the window from which Poplawski was shooting, Bell said. When SWAT officers tried to pull him out of range, Poplawski shot dozens of rounds down at them, Bell said.
"They had shields and were shooting back while they pulled him away," he said. "When they lifted him over that little wall, they dropped him and you could tell he was deceased. There was no muscle response."
Poplawski surrendered about 11 a.m. He was taken from the house strapped to a gurney.
An armored SWAT vehicle parked outside city police headquarters in the afternoon bore the evidence of a fire fight, with cracked windows in front of where a driver and passenger would sit. A bullet hole beside a portal on the driver's side showed the gunman's intent.
"He's being deliberate and trying to get to the officers inside," said Officer Daniel O'Hara, president of Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge No. 1. Pointing at the bullet-proof windshield, he said, "That saved two officers' lives right there."
Edward Perkovic, a friend of Poplawski's from North Catholic High School, said Poplawski called him early yesterday at Children's Hospital, where Perkovic works.
"He said 'Eddie, I'm going to die today. Tell your family that I love them, and I love you.' Then I heard a bunch of gunshots," Perkovic said.
Jean Jacobson, who lives on Oglethorpe, said she heard at least 200 gunshots.
When it stopped, she walked outside and found a police officer sitting in a neighbor's yard, crying into his hands, she said.
"I went over to console him," Jacobson said, her eyes brimming with tears. "He said it was the first time he's ever had to deal with losing some of his men."
City and state police, joined by Allegheny County sheriff's deputies, cordoned off several blocks surrounding the house into the evening. A police helicopter hovered overhead for hours.
"It was crazy," said Ray Parker, who has lived in Stanton Heights since 1935. "It scared the hell out of me. You could hear the gunfire go on forever."
Harper compared the killings to the fatal shootings March 21 of four police officers in Oakland, Calif., by a parolee pulled over for a traffic violation. The gunman was killed.
"We've seen this type of violence in California but we never would think of this type of violence in Pittsburgh," Harper said.
Howard Jordan, interim police chief in Oakland, said he will call Harper today.
"Having gone through what he's going through now, I know his head is spinning," Jordan said. "That was the worst day of my life. ... I remember the look on my officers' faces, how distraught they were. I had commanders crying. It was that devastating."
He said the situation for Harper and his officers in some ways will be more difficult to handle than the Oakland shootings because Poplawski survived.
"We have closure because the suspect here was killed," he said. "But (Harper's) situation is a little rougher. He's going to have to deal with this going to trial. Those officers are going to have to relive this incident over and over again."
Jordan said he will authorize a contingent of Oakland officers to travel to Pittsburgh for funeral services.
Donaldson said Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik offered St. Paul's Cathedral in Oakland for a funeral, but Holy Week could create a scheduling conflict. Arrangements were incomplete last night.
Ravenstahl said he received phone calls from the White House, Gov. Ed Rendell, Sen. Robert Casey and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.
An emergency dispatcher shortly after 1 p.m. broadcast a message over police radios instructing that all city flags be lowered to half-staff "in honor of our deceased brothers." The dispatcher ended the message with "lest we forget."
Long-time veterans said it was hard to maintain composure when a young daughter of one officer began asking for her daddy.
Harper asked that the officers' families be allowed to grieve in private.
"I have 34 years of service to the city," Donaldson said. "This is the most tragic and terrible day of my life. It saddens you so much. Young men who were just starting their careers. When you see the families left behind, it just tears at your heart strings."
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'All dedicated'
Eric Kelly, 41, of Stanton Heights, a 14-year veteran of the department, was assigned to Zone 5. He leaves behind a wife, Marena; daughters Tameka, 22, Autumn, 16, and Janelle, 11; his mother, Francis Kelly; and sister, Danyelle.
Paul J. Sciullo III, 37, of Bloomfield became an officer in October 2007 and was assigned to Zone 5. He is survived by his parents, Paul and Julia Sciullo; two sisters, Laura and Julia; and his fiancee, Lisa Esposto.
Stephen Mayhle of Highland Park turned 29 on Friday. He leaves behind a wife, Shandra; daughters Jennifer, 6 and Brooklynn, 3; his parents, Ronald and Marjorie Mayhle; and brothers Jeffrey, 25, and Jamie, 20.
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