Wilkinsburg officer fatally shoots armed man, county police say

A Wilkinsburg police officer fatally shot an armed man on Tuesday, the Allegheny County Police Department said.

County police said the preliminary investigation shows that an officer with the Wilkinsburg Police Department was patrolling the area near the intersection of Swissvale and Ross avenues when he saw a man with a gun shortly before 4:30 p.m.  

Allegheny County police said witnesses told investigators that the armed man approached the officer's vehicle. The officer got out and told the man to drop his weapon multiple times, but he didn't listen, county police said. Witnesses reported that he was "yelling loudly in the street" and "taunting" the officer, Allegheny County Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph said. 

The officer opened fire, hitting the man in the chest, county police said. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, but later died, officials said. 

County police didn't provide any other information about the shooting. Joseph said it's still early in the investigation. 

When asked how many shots the officer fired, Joseph said, "Again, I'm sure that's what people want to know, but right now we don't have that information. It just happened recently, so we're still investigating right now."