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. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Jonathan Simmons, 38. 

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." 

Video of the police shooting obtained by KDKA shows the officer outside of his vehicle appearing to duck for cover as the man, who police say was armed with a handgun, approaches him. Then, the officer and the man circle the police vehicle before the man appears to point his gun toward the officer.

In a statement to KDKA, Wilkinsburg Mayor Dontae Comans said, "I can say we are following proper protocol for this."

Once the county police's investigation is completed, it will turn over the case to the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, which will determine if the police shooting was justified.  

Neighbors say Simmons' behavior was out of the ordinary

KDKA-TV on Wednesday talked to Simmons' friends and neighbors, who said his behavior was out of the ordinary when he was shot. 

"It was chaos, like, he wasn't there," Asia Peterson said.

Peterson said she was at the scene, shouting at Simmons to drop what she believes was a BB gun.

"I was begging him to put the gun down, like screaming, you know what I'm saying?" Peterson said. "But he wasn't there, and that comes from like the drugs on the streets. You think you're smoking weed when you're really smoking deuce, like, you know what I'm saying? The fake weed or deuce or dooney, whatever they call it, you know what I'm saying? That really messes up people's brains, like I've seen it," Peterson said.

Allegheny County police said the Wilkinsburg officer gave Simmons numerous verbal commands to drop his weapon before he shot him.

"It wasn't real, you know what I'm saying? But, like, the cop doesn't know that. Who's gonna bring a taser to a gunfight if you think it's a gun? So it's just very unfortunate, on both ends," Peterson said.

Peterson said Simmons likely had the weapon to use to intimidate someone who may have been looking for trouble.

"It wasn't a real gun, like, you know? He probably had it for, like, just intimidation, you know what I'm saying? Just like, in case someone did try to maybe rob him, or, like, you know, try to do something to him," Peterson said.

Peterson said Simmons had been working on fixing up a house in the neighborhood but believes he recently received news that he was going to lose his home.

"He went to court and everything, and they still were going to take it from him. I think that's what really like, set off, his mental health," Peterson said.

"When I heard it was him, it broke my heart, you know, because I just said hi to him yesterday, the day before yesterday, you know, I seen him, he was looking out his window," said Tina Goughler, another neighbor.

Both women told KDKA-TV that Simmons was someone who minded his own business.

"He's a hard worker, good friend, great son," Peterson said. "He was really a good person, like, and he helped me out so much, and like other people too, in the community."