Police Investigate Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Officials are investigating after a police-involved shooting in Fayette County late Friday night.
It happened around 10:40 p.m. at 52 Rose Boulevard in North Union Township.
According to a family friend, 50-year-old Shawn Knight and his daughter were involved a domestic dispute which was resolved before state police arrived at the house.
The friend, who does not want to be identified, says Knight's daughter tried to tell police it was over, but he says troopers still entered the house.
"They pushed the daughter and mother out of the doorway, come rushing in, he jumped up off the couch, which everybody down here has weapons; if somebody walks through their house, they're going to have a weapon in their hand," he said. "Soon as he jumped up, they saw the weapons. They didn't even ask him to drop the weapons; they fired at him."
However, state police say Knight pointed two handguns at the officers and they retreated from the residence and took cover outside.
Police say Knight followed them outside, and when he refused to drop the weapons as ordered, they fired several shots, killing him. None of the officers were hurt.
A neighbor was just coming home remembers seeing Knight with weapons.
"They were handguns, but you couldn't tell what they were," said Stephanie Wright, a neighbor.
Wright also remembers what police were doing at the time.
"I pulled up onto the road, and the police officers were in the road shooting," she said.
"The whole neighborhood is grieving over this," the family friend added. "The family got to witness it firsthand; the mother and daughter witnessed it firsthand being pushed out of the way and watching their husband and father being shot. This could have been avoided just by talking. Shawn was a great guy. He was a Marine."
State police issued a press release overnight, but since then there's been no further comment. As for the two officers involved, they're on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
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