Man faces charges in police shooting
Two North Braddock officers slightly injured
Police have charged a Wilkinsburg man with shooting at two North Braddock police officers late Tuesday, striking one in the chest with a round that was stopped by body armor.
That officer and his partner suffered other minor injuries — one to his scalp, the other to his arm — that could have been caused by flying glass or bullets as they responded to what was determined to be a hoax call, Allegheny County Police Lt. Andrew Schurman said Wednesday.
Dejon Howard, 20, the suspected shooter, was taken into custody. He was in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting arraignment Wednesday night in City Court where he was to be charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and weapons violations.
North Braddock Mayor Thomas Whyel identified the injured officers as Sgt. Brian Hodges, a 10-year veteran, and Officer James Mains, a part-timer who started about four months ago.
Mr. Whyel said Sgt. Hodges was saved by his bullet-resistant vest. He said the sergeant was shot in the forearm — which was bandaged when he arrived at work Wednesday afternoon before being sent back home — but it could have been worse.
“If he was 6 inches to the left, he would have probably got shot in
“He had a green laser on his face. … They’re very bright. He saw the green dot,” Mr. Whyel said of the sergeant.
“The situation was much more close to being a homicide investigation,” the mayor said. “He was very close to being shot in the head because he had his arms up over his head holding his flashlight.”
Mr. Whyel said Sgt. Hodges was also lucky that his body armor protected him.
“He was turning sideways on the second shot,” according to the mayor.
Sgt. Hodges returned fire and both officers took cover.
Backup officers arrived, and a man was seen fleeing the building. Police couldn’t catch him, and they alerted other departments, which began a search of the area.
Lt. Schurman said members of the county’s SWAT team found two people inside the vacant house and took them into custody but later determined they were not involved in the shooting.
About 1 a.m., Allegheny County Port Authority police officers saw a man matching the description of the shooter near the Hawkins Village Housing Complex in Rankin and took him into custody withoutincident.
Investigators later determined that man — Mr. Howard — was solely responsible for shooting at the officers.
Mr. Howard told police that he had been staying in the vacant house, according to a criminal complaint. He said he had robbed a man he knew as “C Rock” of marijuana and a gun earlier Tuesday.
Because Mr. Howard was afraid of retaliation, he said he was scared for his life when he heard officers pushing on the rear door. He said he didn’t realize the men were officers when he fired two shots at them, according to the complaint.
Mr. Howard said he waited a couple of minutes then ran from the house. He said he heard someone yell “stop,” but he wasn’t aware it was an officer, according to the complaint.
Investigators found that the two teenage boys had never been abducted and that the report was false.
Police have no reason to believe there was a plan to ambush the officers or lure them to the vacant house, Lt. Schurman said.
Mr. Whyel said he spoke with Sgt. Hodges after the incident and told him to”take as much time as you need.”
“He does not belong in a police car this evening,” Mr. Whyel said. “He needs to be home.”