Police shoot, kill man at Huntingdon Inn Motel
NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. (KDKA) -- Police shot and killed a man at a motel in Westmoreland County on Tuesday.
The shooting happened in a parking lot behind the Huntingdon Inn Motel on Route 30, the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office and state police said in a joint news release.
During an "active narcotics investigation," 30-year-old Dontae Warner "became involved in an interaction" with several agencies, including agents from the state attorney general's office and one North Huntingdon Township officer. Officers fired shots and Warner was found dead inside a car, authorities said.
No officers were injured. The Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office and state police didn't release any other details.
Police were able to quickly evacuate the area and shut down both directions of Route 30.
The Norwin School District placed Stewartsville Elementary School on modified lockdown just after 2 p.m. due to a "community threat," the superintendent announced in a letter to families.
Authorities also delayed afternoon dismissal at the high school for safety reasons, authorities said.
Through social media, officials with North Huntingdon Township asked the public to avoid the area of Route 30 and Carpenter Lane in the Stewartsville area.
Police cleared the area and reopened the roads while Norwin Schools lifted the lockdown.
Dan Cardiff was evacuated from the barber shop nearby and spent about an hour at Sheetz before police said it was safe to come back.
"There were so many cop cars and SWAT team. There must have been 50 cop cars, SWAT team, not counting the detectives and everything," Cardiff said.
"When they were firing, you could smell the gunpowder flying back at us. You could smell it. I mean they all had their weapons pulled coming down there, and they were shooting," he added.
The DA will review the evidence and determine if the use of deadly force was justified.
The coroner said the cause and manner of death will be pending autopsy results and further investigation. Toxicology results won't be available for several weeks, the coroner said.
