Police Fatally Shoot Woman Who Allegedly Raised Gun At Them In Greensburg

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GREENSBURG (KDKA) – A woman shot by police in Westmoreland County on Wednesday afternoon has died.

Police say the woman had a gun and refused to put it down.

The woman fired at a car on Harvey Avenue not far from her home on Grant Street a short time before the confrontation with police.

Greensburg Police Captain Robert Stafford told KDKA News, "it seemed to be a random shooting, just shooting in that general direction."

One of the bullets the woman fired broke the glass in the front door of an office building on Harvey Avenue. Investigators believe another bullet from her weapon hit the side of a nearby townhouse.

Neighbor Diana Ank said it was too close for comfort, explaining "a bullet was in the siding next to my apartment; my daughters room is right next to the room where it happened."

Police say the incident started just after 3 p.m. when the woman walked down Grant Street and started shooting toward Harvey Avenue. She then walked back to her home, and that's where she was confronted by police on her porch.

Captain Stafford said, "she was screaming inside the residence, (our officers) started giving her commands. She came into the porch, brandishing a weapon, carrying a handgun in her hand."

One officer first fired a bean bag at her from a special shotgun to try to disable her, but it had little effect. She quickly regained her composure and refused to drop the gun, that's when a second backup officer fired his weapon at her. She died at Greensburg Hospital several hours later.

Police said they had never been to the woman's house prior to Wednesday.

The officers involved in the incident will now be debriefed, as is protocol, they will be placed on administrative leave for the time being.