[PA] Pittsburgh Police Officers Sciullo, Mayhle, and Kelly slain responding to a domestic call

Officer Eric Kelly,
Officer Stephen Mayhle
& Officer Paul Sciullo

...Poplawski knew his mother had called 911. He apparently lay in wait for them, armed with an AK-47 assault-style rifle, a .22-caliber rifle, and a revolver...

"Today, the heart of Pittsburgh

is broken."

-- City Councilman William Peduto

3 PITTSBURGH POLICE OFFICERS SHOT DEAD; ALLEGED GUNMAN ARRESTED
Stanton Heights Neighbors Hear Nearly 100 Rounds Fired
thepittsburghchannel.com
POSTED: 9:13 am EDT April 4, 2009
UPDATED: 8:55 pm EDT April 4, 2009
[Excerpts]Three Pittsburgh police officers were killed and a fourth was injured in an unprecedented shooting Saturday morning in Stanton Heights, where authorities believe a man was "lying in wait" with high-powered weapons, ready to fire when the victims arrived at his home. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl identified the slain officers as Paul Sciullo, who was first to get shot, Steve Mayhle, who was backing him up, and Eric Kelly, who was on his way home but had stopped to help the others... Police said four officers were called to 1016 Fairfield St. for a domestic call at about 7 a.m. [Police Chief Nate] Harper said the suspect's mother was in the basement of the home and is the one who initially called police. Harper told reporters Kelly was the first officer into the home and the first one shot. He was followed by Mayhle and Sciullo, all of whom where fatally wounded. SWAT members attending to the officers were also shot at, making rescue difficult... [Full article here]

3 PITTSBURGH OFFICERS KILLED; SUSPECT TAKEN AFTER STANDOFF
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
By Michael Fuoco
Sun, Apr. 5, 2009
[Excerpts] ...The call, described as a domestic argument between a mother and son with no weapons involved, was also heard by Officer Eric Kelly, who had just finished his 11 p.m.-to-7 a.m. shift. Still in uniform but driving his personal white van to his Stanton Heights home, he decided to swing by Fairfield to provide backup for his fellow officers from the Zone 5 station in East Liberty... Within minutes, all three officers were fatally shot by the subject of the domestic call, later identified as Richard "Pop" Poplawski... Poplawski knew his mother had called 911. He apparently lay in wait for them, armed with an AK-47 assault-style rifle, a .22-caliber rifle, and a revolver. He was also wearing a bulletproof vest. Poplawski shot Sciullo in the head when the officer reached the doorway... He shot Mayhle, who was right behind Sciullo, in the head as well... Kelly was shot just after pulling up to the scene. Gravely wounded, he used his radio to report that officers were down. Other officers succeeded in getting Kelly out of the line of fire, but he later died... [Full article here]
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