A Schuylkill County man died Monday afternoon of a self-inflicted gunshot wound several hours after shooting at State Troopers responding to his home for a reported domestic altercation.
According to State Police Troop L Public Information Officer Ethan Brownback, Troopers from the Frackville barracks were sent to 83 Valley St. in New Philadelphia at about 10 a.m. for a reported domestic violence incident.
As Troopers entered the residence, Brownback says a white, Hispanic male fired “multiple rounds” at officers. Troopers then retreated from the home and established a perimeter around it. No Troopers were struck by any of the suspect’s fire.
At that time, State Police’s Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) was activated and responded in large numbers to the scene. Multiple local municipal police forces also responded.
Around 2 p.m., about four hours into the standoff, SERT made entry into the residence and Brownback says the suspect was found deceased inside of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Brownback says the incident was isolated and there is no current threat to the public. Police have not released the name of the suspect, as of 3 p.m. Monday.
However, during the standoff, Troopers stationed in and around an armored Bearcat vehicle – which had arrived in front of the suspect’s home at about 12:30 p.m. – began communicating with the suspect over a loudspeaker at about 1 p.m.
After sounding a siren, a Trooper got on a microphone and said, “Kevin, this is the State Police. We have your place surrounded. We have charges against you from the incident that occurred earlier with your girlfriend. We need you to come outside so we can get these charges resolved. They’re not going to get resolved with you staying inside the house. We need you to come out … come out your front door with nothing in your hands and listen for instructions.”
This message and several like it were repeated several times.
Again, police got on their microphone and invited the suspect to exit peacefully.
“Kevin, we can’t leave,” a Trooper said over the mic.
At 1:16 p.m., one Trooper came from around the rear of the Bearcat and lobbed a flashbang grenade at the suspect’s home. Small drones were deployed to get a look inside the home.
Police said they tried reaching the suspect by phone but got no response. A mobile battering ram was used to breach the front screen door of the home. The front entry door was open the entire time, a neighbor tells Coal Region Canary.
Between 1:46 and 1:51 p.m., Troopers deployed numerous rounds of tear gas canisters into the home. Behind cover, it was obvious the canisters had entered the home, as glass could be heard breaking a block away.
Five minutes later, armed Troopers moved from the Bearcat and advanced toward the home.
Throughout the course of the standoff, several snipers positioned themselves around the neighborhood surrounding the suspect’s home, even entering homes across the street from the incident to get the best vantage point. Residents and onlookers were ordered to either stay indoors or get out of the line of sight.
A State Police helicopter and drone hovered overhead throughout the incident.
Traffic was halted into New Philadelphia from Port Carbon to the west and Middleport to the east throughout much of the standoff.
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