ATF Agent Shot During SWAT Incident Uptown, Suspect In Custody
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms was shot and wounded during a multi-agency operation in Pittsburgh's Uptown neighborhood Thursday morning.
It all started around 8 a.m. when Pittsburgh Police, the SWAT team and other public safety officials were seen at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Marion Street.
The ATF and FBI were also part of the operation.
Investigators focused their efforts on a home on Marion Street. According to the ATF, a suspect is now in custody in connection with the incident.
Juan Gonzalez said he witnessed it all.
"I woke up this morning and I was going to see my doctor and I was parking and I got surrounded by the police and they made me get out of my car. All of a sudden, I see cop cars and the ATF and FBI," said Gonzalez. "They came to this block, and two seconds later, I heard one shot and they had me on the other corner. I told them that I was doing going to see my doctor and that was it."
The ATF said the agent who was shot was tended to by on-scene ATF medics for his injuries and is in stable condition.
The ATF stresses how dangerous the job of an agent is and said training paid off as medics were able to provide quick medical care to the agent who was shot.
In a statement, ATF Philadelphia Field Division Acting Special Agent in Charge John Schmidt said, "Our jobs as ATF Special Agents are inherently dangerous. We understand the risks we take every day as we perform our law enforcement duties. It is never a good day when one of our own is injured in the line of duty; however, I am grateful to report our Special Agent is in stable condition. We train for these types of situations and that training paid off today. In our efforts to conduct operations as safely as possible, we have medics on our Special Response Teams for instances just like today – our highly trained medics were able to quickly provide medical care to our Special Agent and helped insure the best outcome possible in this instance."
The names of the special agent and the suspect have not yet been released. Officials have also not said what charges the suspect will face.