Shooting in Pittsburgh

Three officers were killed after responding to a call early this morning. This article does not state the specifics on why the domestic abuse call was phoned in, but the call sent police to the house of Richard Poplawski. Apparently, Officer Paul Sciullo III was the first to arrive on the scene at 7:05 a.m. and upon entering the house he was immediately shot in the head.Officer Sciullo was with the force for 14 years. Shortly after Officer Stephen Mayhle entered the house to help Sciullo and he was also shot in the head. The third officer,Eric Kelly, had just finished his shift, but rushed to the scene to try and help the wounded officers when he was also fatally shot.

A stand-off between Poplawski and the law enforcement soon followed. Poplawski was shooting from a bedroom window. An ARMY SWAT vehicle arrived at 8:30 a.m. and Poplawski opened fire, which prevented them from attending the wounded officers.

Two other officers, Timothy McManaway and Brian Jones, were wounded in this shoot-out before Poplawski surrendered. Police had responded to the Poplawski house two or three times before and neighbors said the family was trouble.

This is the first time since 1995 that Pittsburgh, Penn. has lost an officer in the line of duty.

This article leaves questions, "What was the domestic dispute about" and "Why did Poplawski open fire on the police officers" that will probably never be answered.