LATROBE, Pa. — A Lancaster man is behind bars, accused of firing a shotgun several times into a box truck at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe and leading police on a chase across Westmoreland County and into Indiana County on Friday.
Tyler Mieczkowski, 22, is now being held at the Westmoreland County Jail after being denied bail.
“On today’s date, around 1:40, there was a box truck that was exiting the airport. Upon exiting, shots were fired into the windshield of the vehicle,” said Captain Jeff Shearer, with Westmoreland County Park Police.
According to Shearer, the driver, who was at the airport to make a delivery, was not hurt.
Officers immediately notified State Police and surrounding agencies that the suspect, now identified as Mieczkowski, took off in a dark-colored Dodge Charger.
Within minutes, officers tracked down Mieczkowski and attempted to stop him.
“He went through several towns at high speeds with a lot of police cars chasing him, and I’m very grateful that nobody was hurt,” Shearer said.
The chase went through Latrobe and Derry in Westmoreland County and into Blairsville in Indiana County, where police stopped Mieczkowski’s Charger, causing it to crash using spike strips.
“It was very impactful to have such a short response time, of course, you want to minimize people being hurt, any kind of further destruction,” Shearer said.
Investigators say it’s still unclear if Mieczkowski and the victim knew each other but they do believe it was a targeted attack.
Ultimately, officers are grateful for all the teamwork throughout the pursuit and investigation.
“It is extremely important when something like this happens and you have an immediate response from so many departments, you know that you’re in a safer place because of it,” Shearer said.
Mieczkowski is facing multiple charges, including attempted homicide and aggravated assault.
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