Police kill man wanted for slaying of Florida trombone player as she left practice

SOUTH STRABANE, Pa. — Pennsylvania authorities say a man wanted for gunning down a Florida trombone player as she left orchestra practice has been killed after he pulled a gun on officers trying to make a traffic stop.

State police say troopers tried to stop Steven Brooks late Thursday for erratic driving in South Strabane, about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. They say the 45-year-old St. Petersburg, Florida, man drove off the wrong way down Interstate 70 before crashing into a bridge support column.

Brooks then fled on foot and scaled a fence before pulling out a gun. Authorities say he refused orders to drop the weapon and was shot.

A manhunt had been underway for Brooks since the February killing of Caroline Morton-Hicks. CBS affiliate WTSP reported in February that just before her death witnesses heard Morton-Hicks arguing with someone in the parking lot outside the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center where she had been practicing. WTSP also reported that she appeared to have been running away when she was shot.

Police in Madison County, Alabama, say Brooks was tracked to a home there. That led to a standoff with police Wednesday night, but he managed to flee.