2009 shooting of Pittsburgh police officers

2009 shooting of Pittsburgh police officers
LocationPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
DateApril 4, 2009 (2009-04-04)
7:03 – c. 11:03 a.m.
Attack type
Shootout and mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths3
Injured3 (2 by gunfire, including the perpetrator)
PerpetratorRichard Poplawski

On April 4, 2009, a shootout occurred at 1016 Fairfield Street[2] in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, stemming from a mother and her 22-year-old son's argument over a dog urinating in the house.[3] At approximately 7:11 a.m. EDT, 22-year-old Richard Poplawski opened fire on two Pittsburgh Police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call from Poplawski's mother, who was attempting to get the police officers to remove her son from the home.[3] Despite Poplawski's mother telling the 9-1-1 operator that Poplawski had guns, the police officers were not told.[4] Three police officers were ultimately confirmed dead, and another two were seriously injured.[5]

According to Pittsburgh Police Chief Nathan Harper, Poplawski was armed with a semi-automatic AK-47-style rifle, a Savage 67 12-gauge shotgun, a .22-caliber Mossberg 702 Plinkster semi-automatic rifle and two handguns (a 4-inch Dan Wesson Model 14 .357 Magnum revolver and a .380-caliber Bersa Thunder 380 handgun), protected by a bulletproof vest, and had been lying in wait for the officers.[5] According to police and witnesses, he held police at bay for four hours as the fallen officers were left bleeding nearby, their colleagues unable to reach them. More than 600 rounds were fired by the SWAT teams and Poplawski.

The victims were the first Pittsburgh city officers killed in the line of duty in 18 years.[5] The incident was the third-deadliest attack on U.S. law enforcement since the September 11 attacks, following a 2016 mass shooting in Dallas, Texas;[6][7] and a pair of related shootings two weeks earlier in Oakland, California.[8][9]

On June 28, 2011, Poplawski was sentenced to death by lethal injection on three counts of murder in the first degree.[10]

  1. ^ "Slideshow: Photo Evidence From The Richard Poplawski Trial". WTAE Pittsburgh. June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  2. ^ "Affidavit outlines shootings that left three Pittsburgh police officers dead". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Dispute Led to Shootings in Pittsburgh". New York Times. April 5, 2009. Archived from the original on April 17, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  4. ^ "911 worker didn't tell Pittsburgh police of guns - US news - Crime & courts". NBC News. April 7, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Plushnick-Masti, Ramit; Dan Nephin (April 4, 2009). "Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  6. ^ "Sniper Ambush Kills 5 Officers, Injures 7 in Dallas Following Peaceful Protest". NBC DFW. July 7, 2016. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. ^ Achenbach, Joel; Wan, William; Berman, Mark; Balingit, Moriah (July 8, 2016). "Five Dallas police officers were killed by a lone attacker, authorities say". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "3 officers killed in Pittsburgh shooting". Las Vegas Sun. Associated Press. April 4, 2009. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  9. ^ "Shooting ranks as one of deadliest in U.S. law enforcement in decades". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. April 5, 2009. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  10. ^ "Cop-Killer Richard Poplawski Sentenced To Death". www.wpxi.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved May 22, 2012.