Man wounded in shootout held for trial

A Crafton Heights man who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police in November was ordered held for trial following a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

On Nov. 6, police responded to a domestic disturbance call from a woman who said Issa Abdus-Salaam was chasing her with a gun.

When Officers Nicholas Lowery and Antonio Ruiz arrived at the home on Crucible Street, they heard shots from inside the home and took cover behind a police car.

They then saw Mr. Abdus-Salaam come to the door with a gun. Officer Lowery testified on Wednesday that when he heard a shot and saw a flash from the barrel of Mr. Abdus-Salaam’s gun, he returned fire.

Investigators say Mr. Abdus-Salaam fired at least 10 shots at police. One bullet hit the front grille of the police car the officers were crouched behind, according to detectives who later found a .40-caliber bullet next to the police car and said the patrol car had visibly sustained “ballistic damage.”

Officer Lowery shot 16 times, hitting Mr. Abdus-Salaam three times, detectives said.

Mr. Abdus-Salaam was taken to the hospital in critical condition following the incident.

When he entered the courtroom on Wednesday, Mr. Abdus-Salaam had a crutch under his right arm and both arms were fully covered in bandages.

Upon entering the home, detectives found a .40-caliber Glock pistol on the hallway floor outside the kitchen, and Glock magazines with live cartridges, some with what appeared to be blood stains, according to police. Detectives found eight shell casings inside the residence, spread throughout the house.

In a recording of the 911 call to police, the woman and her children can be heard screaming and attempting to reason with Mr. Abdus-Salaam.

On the call, the operator repeatedly asks them to stop talking to Mr. Abdus-Salaam and leave the building. Eventually, they tell the operator that he has blocked the door and they have no way to escape.

The woman later told police that Mr. Abdus-Salaam had hit her, thrown her against a TV, locked the children in a bedroom and fired two shots at her.

Mr. Abdus-Salaam can be heard yelling and saying he won’t leave the house unless he is in a “body bag.”

Neither the woman nor her children were injured in the incident. Responding police were also uninjured.

Mr. Abdus-Salaam was charged with two counts of attempted homicide, four counts of aggravated assault, assault of a law enforcement officer and various related charges.

In Wednesday’s hearing, Mr. Abdus-Salaam’s attorney, Aaron Sontz, argued that the judge should drop the attempted homicide charge, given that his client had presented himself as a clear target to officers and had only shot one time at the police vehicle.

He said that if his intent was to kill the officers one would expect more rounds clustered near the police.

Deputy District Attorney Stephie Ramaley countered that if Mr. Abdus-Salaam was pointing his gun at police and firing, he had an intent to kill.

District Judge James Hanley held the defendant on all charges.