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Police Make Arrest In Shooting Of Harmony Twp. Police Officer

AMBRIDGE (KDKA) -- Police in Beaver County say they have made an arrest in the shooting of a Harmony Township Police officer earlier this week.

According to police, Earl Hollins, also known as Nitty, turned himself in at the Aliquippa Police Department just before 10 p.m. Friday.

He is now facing charges of criminal attempted homicide and aggravated assault, and could also face additional counts.

"This investigation lasted for the last three days," said Lt. Thomas Dubovi, of Pennsylvania State Police. "It's been intensive where we received many tips from many different sources, and what has taken the longest is vetting out those tips and disqualifying potential suspects and narrowing it down to one specific suspect, which we were able to arrest this evening."

Hollins is accused of shooting Harmony Township Police Officer Alan Loskoch in the early morning hours of Wednesday. Loskoch had on a bulletproof vest that likely saved his life.

Authorities say the officer was on patrol on Beaver Road in Harmony Township when he spotted a man who appeared to be looking through parked vehicles. Bullets came through the windshield of the officer's unmarked car.

Officer Loskoch returned fire, but the suspect took off running, and there has been a manhunt ever since.

Police tracked Hollins to a residence on Main Street in Aliquippa later on the day of the shooting, but didn't have enough probable cause to make an arrest.

They conducted a search warrant at the same residence again on Friday, but Hollins wasn't there.

Police say Hollins changed his appearance to make it harder for police to catch him.

A Conway police officer found Loskosh unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle after arriving at the scene. He was taken to the hospital and treated. He continues to recover.

"The outpouring from the community is something I haven't seen, the generosity, the coming forward with information or just patting policemen on the back, that speaks for itself, volumes," said Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh.

Berosh says he plans on talking to the FOP president so he can make sure equipment at police departments throughout Beaver County is updated.

Officials say the arrest would not have been made without the help of all the agencies involved, including the FBI, U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, state police, the Attorney General's Office and local departments.

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