Police: Suspect opened fire on officers first in Homewood incident

Police say a man opened fire on two officers on a foot patrol in Homewood early Sunday morning before they fired back, killing him.

Allegheny County Police are investigating the incident involving two Pittsburgh police officers.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Officer identified the dead man as Mark Daniels, 39.

Investigators say the officers began their patrol at 1:11 a.m. near Bett’s Market on Brushton Avenue. They saw a man leave Bett’s and begin behaving suspiciously, so they walked south on Newman Way, paralleling the man walking south on Brushton Avenue.

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Minutes later, a man dressed similar to the person they were following fired more than once at the officers at the corner of Bennet Street and Newman, police said. One officer fired back, and the officers pursued the man, investigators said.

The same officer exchanged gunfire with the man again on Bennet Street, and the suspect fled across Brushton.

Police searching for the suspect follow a blood trail to the rear of a home on Bennet, where officers called 911 and began to perform CPR on Daniels, investigators said.

EMS personnel arrived at 1:34 a.m., and Daniels was taken to UPMC Presbyterian, where he was pronounced dead at 2 a.m.

Police say they recovered a .40-caliber Glock at the scene. Neither of the officers initially involved were wearing body cameras.

Police continue to investigate.

Cox Media Group