Police Fire Shots At Erratic Driver In Pittsburgh Zoo Parking Lot

HIGHLAND PARK (KDKA) -- Police were called to Highland Park around 11 p.m. Saturday after a woman was reportedly "causing a disturbance" in the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium in the 7400-block of Butler Street.

Police identify the driver as Brittany Alcorn, 22, from Greensburg.

Alcorn allegedly struck two other vehicles in the parking lot and ignored police commands to get out of her car.

"Our Pittsburgh police officers were summoned to the zoo parking lot because there was a disruptive individual driving a vehicle," said Pittsburgh Public Safety Officer Sonya Toler.

An officer approached her car and grabbed Alcorn's left arm, threatening to tase her if she started the vehicle. The officer said she smelled like alcohol and that her speech was slurred.

Police also say a passenger in the car got out and told them Alcorn was drunk.

However, Alcorn allegedly started the car and took off. Police drew their weapons and ordered her to stop and one officer fired four shots after she nearly ran him over.

"At one point, we had an officer who attempted to stop the vehicle by shooting at it, not at the driver, but the vehicle to stop the threat," said Toler.

Alcorn was stopped a short while later at Butler and 57th streets and was arrested.

A nearby popular Halloween attraction, the Scarehouse in Etna, uses the zoo's lot for parking and runs shuttle buses to the attraction. Neither the Zoo nor the Scarehouse appear to be involved in the incident. No one who had parked in the lot was allowed to leave for quite some time.

Alcorn is charged on multiple counts, including DUI and aggravated assault.

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