GREENSBURG (KDKA) — Investigators are releasing new details today following autopsies on the Lower Burrell police officer who was shot and killed Wednesday night and the suspected gunman in the incident.

According to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office, 40-year-old Derek Kotecki died from gunshot wounds to the head, left arm and abdomen.

The manner of his death has been ruled a homicide.

Officer Kotecki, an 18-year veteran of the police force, was shot in the line of duty outside of the Dairy Queen on Greensburg Road. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The fallen officer’s body was escorted to Carlow University on Thursday where Dr. Cyril Wecht performed the autopsy that afternoon.

Dr. Wecht also performed the autopsy on the suspected gunman in the case, 33-year-old Charles Post of Lower Burrell. Police had been looking for Post since a shooting incident earlier this month outside the Clarion Hotel in New Kensington.

The Coroner’s Office reports Post died due to gunshot wounds to the head, chest and abdomen. Investigators add though that “it has not been officially determined which wounds were self-inflicted or inflicted by others.”

He was also pronounced dead at the scene.

The Westmoreland County Detective Bureau and Lower Burrell Police Department continue the investigation.

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Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office
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