Pennsylvania man charged with homicide for killing officer

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A man is facing homicide and other charges in the shooting and killing of one police officer, and the wounding of a second officer after they responded to a domestic disturbance call in western Pennsylvania.

Johnathan Jermia Morris — 31, of McKeesport — is charged in Allegheny County with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and attempted murder, and assault of a law enforcement officer in the shooting Monday afternoon in McKeesport, about 12 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Officers were called to a home shortly after noon Monday over a dispute involving a man that police said was having a "mental health crisis." He refused to talk to them and walked away from the home, and officers were warned by a family member that he might be armed.

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When police encountered him nearby, he "suddenly produced a handgun and shot the two McKeesport officers," said Christopher Kearns, the county's police superintendent. Thirty-two-year-old Sean Sluganski, who had worked for McKeesport police for two years, died at a hospital. A wounded officer was treated and discharged.

A man in McKeesport, Pennsylvania has been charged with criminal homicide and other counts for shooting two police officers, one of whom was killed. (Google Maps)

After the shooting, Morris walked around a corner and fired at the third officer, who returned fire. The suspect was later listed in stable condition at a Pittsburgh-area trauma center.

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Authorities said in a criminal complaint that two witnesses said Morris flagged them down, told them police were trying to kill him and asked them to record video. They said they saw a police cruiser pull up and another officer approach on foot, and then saw Morris pull a handgun and fire at the cruiser and the officer.

Morris, wounded in the leg by return fire, ran to a parking lot and told two people he had been shot and needed help, authorities said. A witness putting a tourniquet on his leg reported seeing Morris pull a handgun and point it at an approaching officer, after which the final exchange of gunfire occurred, authorities said.

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Court documents don’t list a defense attorney for Morris; the county public defender’s office said it wasn’t immediately representing him and a message could not be left at a number listed for his address.