PITTSBURGH — Two Pittsburgh Police Detectives have been placed on paid administrative leaving, pending an investigation by Allegheny County Police into the deadly shooting of a suspect wanted for killing a police chief.
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Sources said that’s standard protocol.
And Target 11 has confirmed that the ATF is now involved in the investigation into the shooting death of the police chief and the wounding of another officer.
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Sources also told Target 11 that the suspect identified as Aaron Swan Jr. had an illegal conversion kit, known as a Glock switch, that turns a semi automatic hand gun into a fully automatic weapon.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, County Police confirmed that the suspect had a conversion kit on his hand gun.
Sources said he was able to fire more than 50 rounds at police during a foot chase in Homewood Monday night.
After a license plate reader spotted the vehicle heading south on Rt. 28, Pittsburgh police sent multiple units to the border of Penn hills and Brushton where police said Swan frequented.
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Two police officers spotted the stolen vehicle in Larimer and activated lights and sirens in an attempt to stop it.
The suspect took off and police followed.
Minutes later, the suspect crashed at the intersection of Columbia and Myrtle near Homewood.
We spoke with a resident who described the scene Monday night.
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“I’ve never seen that many police cars in my life, they were just roaming, and running and coming fast,” said the resident, who declined to give her name.
Law enforcement sources said the suspect hit an embankment in a wooded area, opened the door and then in a bizarre move rolled onto the ground.
At that point, Police thought he might be injured.
But seconds later, according to sources, Swan jumped up and took off running into the woods.
The detectives began chasing him.
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“Can you send units out to Zone 5? They are in pursuit of the actor who just bailed out of that Subaru,” said a police dispatcher.
Police set up a perimeter in an effort to contain the suspect.
Two Pittsburgh police detectives then encountered the suspect along a fence line in the Heart Court housing project in Homewood.
Sources said the suspect was about 15 to 20 feet down an embankment when the detectives spotted him.
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The suspect, according to sources, opened fire, unloading more than 50 shots at police.
We spoke with a resident who heard the gunfire Monday night.
“I thought it was like fireworks, they was like shots after shots after shots, consistently,” said Tywan Winston, of Homewood.
Swan, who had lengthy criminal record, died from gunshot wounds.
One detectives was hit by shrapnel. That same detective suffered a leg injury when he fell and a cut to his eye requiring stitches. He was treated and released from the hospital.
Multiple law enforcement sources told Target 11 it was a miracle that no officers were hit by the rapid gunfire.
Police returned shots, striking and killing the suspect.
Sources said there is plenty of surveillance video and police body camera video documenting what happened.
In November, Target 11 spoke with the ATF about the rise in popularity of these illegal glock switches.
“Those conversion kits are a danger to law enforcement. They are a danger to the public,” said ATF Agent in Charge Joe Price.
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