Following a shooting that occurred in McKeesport on Monday that left one police officer dead and another wounded, a man is now facing charges.
According to authorities, McKeesport police officers responded to a domestic violence complaint in the 1400 block of Wilson Streets at around 12:11 p.m.
According to police, they were informed about a person experiencing a mental health crisis and cautioned he could be armed.
Christopher Kearns, the Superintendent of Allegheny County Police, said that when the police tried to talk with the guy, he left.
According to a criminal complaint, the shooter is McKeesport resident Johnathan Jermia Morris, 31. According to the records, Morris is a veteran who is experiencing an episode of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Morris allegedly informed two witnesses that “the police were trying to kill him” and requested that they record him as he proceeded along Grandview Avenue towards Versailles Avenue, according to the criminal complaint.
He was discovered by the police in front of 1300 Grandview Avenue. According to Kearns, “The suspect suddenly produced a handgun and shot the two McKeesport officers.” According to the criminal complaint, police then discovered six round casings at the site that matched the location where Morris is shown firing at the two cops in the video.
One of the cops was brought to the UPMC McKeesport and was later declared deceased, according to the police. The second officer was taken by flight to a hospital in Pittsburgh.
“The subject continued around the corner to the intersection of Versailles Avenue and Patterson Avenue, where he encountered a third McKeesport officer. He again produced a firearm and fired at that officer,” Kearns said. “There was an exchange of gunfire, and the subject was wounded.”
The officer who died was Sean Sluganski, 32. Sluganski joined the department in January 2020 and worked for the force for two years.
Charles Thomas Jr., a 35-year-old police officer, was the one who was hurt. Thomas has been a police officer for four years, according to the county announcement. He was released from the hospital and is now healing at home.
Morris is now accused of murdering a police officer in the first degree, aggravated assault, and other connected offenses.
