Shots fired at police during chase spurs SWAT standoff in Monongahela
MONONGAHELA, Pa. (KDKA) -- Shots fired at police during a chase involving a stolen vehicle spurred two SWAT standoffs in Monongahela on Wednesday.
Pennsylvania State Police said it began when a car, one of two stolen overnight, drove away from local officers during a traffic stop. An unknown number of shots were fired at police, but no one was hit, troopers said.
Officers briefly lost sight of the vehicle but found it abandoned off Third and Chess Street. Sources said a man ran inside a stranger's home, let the two people inside go, then barricaded himself.
SWAT started clearing the scene shortly before 2 p.m. but came back a few hours later. They asked residents to stay inside as they surrounded the home, guns drawn.
Around 6 p.m., the person inside was on Facebook Live, responding to SWAT. He requested to speak to his mom, who arrived and started talking to him through a loudspeaker, begging him to come outside. SWAT threw tear gas inside, trying to get him out.
A mom and her three kids -- ages 11, 7 and 13 -- had to evacuate earlier as police pointed guns towards their backyard.
"Mom was looking through the window as well and I was, like, kind of scared, because I feel like, like we did something bad or something," said John Escalante, one of the kids.
Police haven't said what brought them back to the area the second time, or why they cleared the scene earlier.
Stay with KDKA-TV and KDKA.com for updates to this developing story as they become available.