HOMER CITY, Pa. — State police shot and killed a driver following a chase in one part of western Pennsylvania while in another area regional police shot and killed a man they said was armed with a machete.
A trooper in Indiana County tried to stop a vehicle in Center Township on Sunday night shortly before midnight, but the driver fled, state police said in a statement. A chase continued for several miles in the township and the borough of Homer City, and attempts by troopers to use hollow spike strips to safely stop the vehicle were unsuccessful. One or more troopers shot the man at some point, but details of the shooting were not released.
The other shooting happened in Westmoreland County after Ligonier Valley police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a Ligonier Township home shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, the county district attorney's office said.
Police encountered a man armed with a machete who “aggressively approached officers from the front door of the house,” the DA's office said. The man, identified as Robbie Thomas Saunders, 59, was shot once and died after being brought to a hospital in Johnstown, prosecutors said.
County detectives are investigating, and the district attorney will review the evidence to determine whether the use of deadly force was justified, prosecutors said.
