Connect with us

Pennsylvania

Officers shoot, kill man who fired at them during domestic violence call, state police say

Published

on

Officers shoot, kill man who fired at them during domestic violence call, state police say


YORK — Law enforcement officers in Pennsylvania shot and killed a man who fired at them during a domestic violence call, including aiming shotgun blasts at an officer forced to dive off a porch to protect himself, a county prosecutor said.

Spring Garden Township police were called to a home shortly after 11 p.m. Friday on a report of an armed man having broken into the home of his estranged wife, York County District Attorney David Sunday Jr. told reporters Saturday evening.

When a township police officer approached the front door and requested entrance, Payden Sells, 34, of Spring Grove, told the officer “to back off” and then fired four shotgun blasts from inside the house “as the officer ran across and dove off the porch to take cover,” Sunday said.

Sells then went to the second floor, and two township officers — including the officer who had been fired at — went into the house to try to obtain the victim’s release. Three more shots were fired by Sells from the bedroom, Sunday said.

Advertisement

The officers talked to Sells from the second-floor landing, and he told them he had plenty of ammunition and to keep out of the bedroom, Sunday said. Police were able to obtain the release of the victim and her two dogs, he said.

Officers from a number of surrounding agencies arrived to help. Tactical officers recommended that the two township officers withdraw because of safety concerns.

Sells fired multiple shots from the second-floor window at officers on the scene, and less than a minute later he came out the front door with two handguns. He was told to drop his weapons but fired at least one shot in the direction of officers, and law enforcement officers returned fire, killing him, Sunday said.

In the home, officers found a shotgun on the kitchen floor and found shotgun damage to the door and window. Discharged casings were found on the floor of the second-floor bedroom along with live rounds, which Sunday said were “consistent with Sells attempting to reload the handguns.”

Sunday, who said he viewed body camera and doorbell camera footage and went to the crime scene himself, said the evidence clearly showed that Sells fired at officers, including the shotgun blasts at the officer on the porch “that amounted to an ambush.”

Advertisement

“Under any definition of justification in the law, the shooting death by law enforcement was absolutely necessary in order for officers to neutralize a threat and protect themselves and others from potential serious bodily injury or death,” Sunday said.

Sunday said the case showed the threat posed by domestic violence offenders to victims and law enforcement, and also the importance of the role of police — especially highlighting the officer who was fired upon multiple times and who then “ran into a home to do everything he could to protect the victim … and in doing so put his life in danger.”



Source link

Pennsylvania

State College, Pennsylvania: 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards

Published

on

State College, Pennsylvania: 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards


In rural Pennsylvania, State College houses Penn State against a backdrop of beautiful country scenery. The university hosts many events, arts performances, and lively festivals that give the town year-round excitement that blends student life with local charm. Visitors can attend a football game, explore nearby parks and trails, and savor the town’s growing culinary scene of pubs and local eateries.



Source link

Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

What the war with Iran could mean for gas prices in western Pennsylvania

Published

on

What the war with Iran could mean for gas prices in western Pennsylvania


The war with Iran could start impacting your wallet as soon as today.

Jim Garrity from AAA East Central says oil prices are up.

“They’re hovering around $72. They were pretty consistently around $65, $66 for a while,” he said.

Nationally, AAA said the average for a gallon of regular sits at about $3, up approximately six cents from last week.

Advertisement

In Pennsylvania, it’s around $3.12 a gallon, and in the Pittsburgh region, it’s around $3.24 a gallon. That’s actually down about four cents from last week.

Garrity added that gas prices this time of year would already be increasing, usually because of higher demand for the warmer months and the production of the summer blend of gas used for those months.

The impacts of what’s happening in Iran may not be immediate, which could be part of why our region and the state overall have not seen a spike yet, he said.

“It could be a couple of days later. It could be up to a week later,” Garrity said.

A lot of people are watching what happens with the Strait of Hormuz. Iran borders it to the north, and 20% of the world’s oil goes through it.

Advertisement

Iran is one of the world’s biggest oil producers, and China gets a lot of that oil.

“If there is an impact there, you could see oil start to come in from other parts of the world, which has a downstream effect on [the United States],” Garrity said.

One way you can save on gas if prices increase in our area is by slowing down.

“When you drive faster every five miles, over 50 miles an hour, your fuel efficiency is going down,” Garrity said. “You’re making the car work harder, making the gasoline consumption less effective.”

Garrity added that in 2022, when our area and many others saw some of the highest gas prices ever recorded, people changed their driving habits.

Advertisement

“We saw people make seemingly permanent changes to their driving behaviors, driving less in general, consolidating trips,” he said.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Pennsylvania

Iran vows revenge after the killing of its top leader

Published

on

Iran vows revenge after the killing of its top leader


With energy affordability and reliability dominating headlines, state lawmakers peppered Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley about the administration’s strategy to speed the addition of new power sources to the electric grid. Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee asked Thursday about the administration’s plans to ensure Pennsylvanians’ lights stay on as the commonwealth courts tech […]



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending