A Pittsburgh grandfather hides in the house he was about to be evicted from and engages in a shoot-out with police in which more than 1,000 shots are fired.
A police source named the man William Bill Hardison, 62, according to WPXI-TV, while relatives said the house on Broad Street in Garfield was owned by his recently deceased brother.
Several SWAT teams are still surrounding the crime scene and tear gas has been fired at the home repeatedly since Hardison barricaded himself inside the home around 11 a.m. after police tried to serve him an eviction order.
Shortly after 4:40 p.m., CBS reported that a drone found the shooter “lying down” and covered in blood after flying around the home.
The President is briefed on news from the crime scene and a woman posing as the man’s sister offered to act as an intermediary – but was turned away by police, who warned the gunman might not recognize her in the chaos.
“He’s a good man, he just lost his brother and was in the military service,” the woman told reporters.
Pittsburgh Police and other law enforcement personnel are seen outside the home where the resident is still staying
Relatives said Hardison believed he had a right to the home he shared with his brother
Relatives Marlene Jones said Hardison’s mental health has deteriorated over the past year
Speculation mounted that the man might be dead after no shots were fired for an hour, and police prepared a remote-controlled armored excavator to break into the house.
The sovereign citizens’ movement? Conspiracy theorists who don’t believe in the rule of law
“Sovereign citizens” do not believe that they are bound by federal or state law or that they are required to comply with any type of law enforcement.
Many often do not believe that they have to pay taxes. The FBI considers the group to be an extremist organization.
Notable members include Terry Nichols, the Oklahoma City bomber.
In 2010, two sovereign citizens shot and killed two police officers after they were pulled over in Arkansas.
“Sovereign citizens do not represent an anarchist group, nor are they a militia, although they sometimes use or purchase illegal weapons.” Rather, they act as individuals with no established leadership, only coming together in loosely knit groups to train themselves to help each other with paperwork help or socialize and talk about their ideology,” according to a 2011 FBI paper about the group.
Many think that they are not bound by taxes and therefore often do not pay them.
“Often they don’t pay taxes; “It’s pretty normal across the board, a lot of people don’t pay their license, they don’t get car insurance, they don’t get any driver’s licenses,” Rachel Goldwasser of the Southern Poverty Law Center told FOX News.
The movement is based on a decades-old conspiracy theory that says the government has been secretly replaced and that actual government follows admiralty law.
But shortly after 3 p.m., shooting resumed and television crews were ordered to evacuate the area.
Family member Marlene Jones told CBS that his brother left the house to Hardison, but his mental health had been deteriorating for a year.
“He was getting worse and worse,” she explained.
“If they would just let me or his girlfriend Karen go down there.
“She’s preparing for the worst, she said, ‘I think they’re going to kill him.’
“Whatever he had in his head told him he didn’t have to pay rent.
“He was a prankster, he was like a teddy bear, he made you laugh.”
“You’d be scared of him, but he was a teddy bear.”
Another family member said they had no idea what was going on but offered him a room when he needed a place to stay.
But neighbors described him as violent and said he boarded the house’s windows with large “do not disturb” signs, WPXI reported.
After the brother’s death, the property was sold for tax purposes and now has a new owner, but the squatter still refused to vacate it.
A police source said the gunman identified himself as a “sovereign citizen,” an anti-government extremist, WPXI reported.
The new homeowners’ attorney told CBS officials that the squatter was heavily armed and the issue of his eviction was pending.
Witnesses said that after police knocked on the door, they used a sledgehammer to get in. At this point the shots began.
The ordeal ended in a shootout in which “hundreds” of shots were fired.
Police once stormed within yards of the shooter’s home to escort an immediate neighbor to safety.
Video shows SWAT teams firing at the home to provide cover for officers who rushed in and dragged the neighbor at the 4800 block of Broad Street and N. Mathilda Street into an armored vehicle.
The suspect also shot down two police drones that were circling the house to provide assistance and knowledge to teams on the ground.
Residents in the 4800 block of Broad St were told to stay put, call 911 and wait for officers to evacuate.
Police issued an urgent alert this morning: ‘This is an extremely active situation with continued shooting.’ Please avoid the area at this time.’
Just before 4 p.m., another extended volley of shots was heard
Witnesses said that after police knocked on the door, they used a sledgehammer to get in. At this point the shots began
Several SWAT teams are on site in Pittsburgh
An Allegheny County Police Department SWAT vehicle responds to gunfire
According to initial reports, some of the first deputies to arrive at the scene were out of ammunition. Other people are believed to have been injured during the standoff.
About a dozen Pittsburgh SWAT officers arrived at the scene and prepared to confront the shooter.
One MP was “pinned” in a defensive position during the attack. He was rescued by a member of the SWAT team, CBS reported.
The ordeal takes place not far from St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery and UPMC Children’s Hospital.
Videos showed several police cars circling the residential street while at least 20 gunshots were heard in the background.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a neighbor said he heard hundreds of gunshots when the shooting began — and hundreds more have been fired since.
A police officer responds to gunfire in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh
Sheriff’s deputies attempted to serve an eviction notice. The house belonged to the man’s relatives, and when they died, he refused to leave the house. The property was sold for tax purposes and now has a new owner. But the squatter still refused to leave the house
Residents were told to avoid the 4800 block of Broad Street and N. Mathilda Street in Garfield, Pittsburgh
Chris Wilkinson, who is visiting family in the area, told CBS, “In the beginning, all we heard was the police.” They knocked on the door where the shooting took place.
“They banged on it and told him they were there.” And after a few minutes they started kicking in the door, but after a few tries they couldn’t.
“Then they got a sledgehammer and broke down the door, and after that shots started being fired.” I was really nervous and it’s really sad what’s happening.
“You think you can be safe here, but given what’s happening, you can’t.”
SWAT is now going door to door evacuating everyone on the street.
When the news broke this morning, the Neighborhood Academy school was on lockdown and nearby West Penn Hospital was on a partial lockdown.
Leslie Thompson, who lives in the house across from the hubbub: “It’s amazing.” I’m very nervous. Shots were fired everywhere.’
Thompson, who was working from home at the time, told CBS she ran to the basement when she heard the ordeal outside her window.
She screamed and cried while speaking to her manager on the phone – and shots were fired inside her home as well.
Local residents and neighbors struggled to find out what was going on as they were kept out of the police restricted area
On the right side of these shots from the front door, smoke is seen from the first shots
Video taken at the scene showed several police cars surrounding the residential street while at least 15 gunshots were fired in the background. Police issued an urgent alert this morning: “This is an extremely active situation with gunfire continuing.” Please avoid the area at this time.
The witness said the shots came through her window in her living room and bathroom – which is now riddled with bullet holes.
Glass was shattered all over her house, she said.
“Trying to get into the basement was almost unbearable, shots were fired everywhere.”
Thompson was evacuated from her home by police.
She said it was by “the grace of God” that she was alive.