Man dead after exchanging gunfire with police in Forest Hills
FOREST HILLS, Pa. (KDKA) — A man is dead after allegedly firing at police in Forest Hills.
Forest Hills Police Officers were dispatched Sunday morning to the 2300 block of Ardmore Boulevard for a male yelling at people, lifting his shirt, and displaying a firearm, police said via a press release.
After attempting to speak with the male, he produced a handgun and fired at the officers, according to police. The officers returned fire striking the male multiple times.
The man was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. One of the officer's uniform pants was struck by gunfire, police added, but the officer was not injured.
"Nothing like this has ever happened before, so it's kind of unsettling," Susan Pollick of Forest Hills said.
The incident is now under investigation.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 38-year-old Marcus Allen, of Pittsburgh.
Police said this all started after reports came in that this man was walking along Ardmore Boulevard near Taco Bell.
"We were sitting in the house and heard a couple [of] dozen loud pops," resident Jeff Smeiles said.
"There is not much of a sidewalk or shoulder on that side of the road. He was on the far side of the road where it's mostly just leaves and he was laying in the leaves and I could see a couple of the police officers who were there trying to tend to him. That is when the ambulance showed up and they were moving pretty quickly to get him on the stretcher into the back of the ambulance," Smeiles said.
The shootout between a man and two Forest Hills police officers unfolded along Yost Road near Ardmore Manor Drive near the Braddock Hills Giant Eagle.
The shootout turned deadly after the man allegedly fired at officers first. As is standard procedure, the officers are on paid leave.
"It's kind of scary to think about somebody walking around with a gun, of course, but I feel bad for that person, whoever he was. He had a life and family," said Smeiles.