3 police officers shot in Pittsburgh answering domestic violence call

3 police officers shot in Pittsburgh
Story Highlights
Officers were responding to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said

Gunman is apparently in a house keeping law enforcement at bay

WTAE-TV reports that as many as 80 shots have been fired

(CNN) -- Three police officers were shot in Pittsburgh on Saturday, as they responded to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said.

A gunman is apparently holed up inside a home in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of the western Pennsylvania city.

The conditions of the officers were not known.

Police couldn't say whether the officers struck were from the city, the county or other departments. City, county and state police officers were at the scene.

CNN affiliate WTAE reported that as many as 80 shots have been fired between people in the house and officers
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/04/pittsburgh.officers.shot/index.html
check back with CNN later for details as they come out.


UPDATE

This makes no sense at all. If he was "afraid" President Obama would "ban guns" then why would he do something like this? Why kill police officers for what he was "afraid of" and do something like this?

Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers; friends say he feared Obama would ban guns
DAN NEPHINRAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI
Associated Press Writers Associated Press Writers
5:59 PM EDT, April 4, 2009
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and "lying in wait" opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said.

Police Chief Nate Harper said the motive for the shooting isn't clear, but friends said the gunman recently had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.

Richard Poplawski, 23, met officers at the doorway and shot two of them in the head immediately, Harper said. An officer who tried to help the two also was killed.

Poplawski, armed with an assault rifle and two other guns, then held police at bay for four hours as the fallen officers were left bleeding nearby, their colleagues unable to reach them, according to police and witnesses. More than 100 rounds were fired by the SWAT teams and Poplawski, Harper said.
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Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers

UPDATE Sunday April 5, 2009

Urinating dog triggered argument resulting in 3 officers' deaths
Story Highlights
The officers were the first department fatalities since 1995
Third officer killed was on his way home after finishing shift
Officers were responding to domestic call in Stanton Heights area of Pittsburgh
Two more officers were injured in the nearly four-hour standoff that ensued

(CNN) -- Three Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police officers were shot to death while responding to a 911 call of a domestic argument triggered by a urinating dog, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

The officers were the first department fatalities since 1995, according to the department.
Police said following the shootings Saturday that Richard Poplawski, 22, would be charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. Poplawski, who was shot in the leg during a four-hour standoff with police, was hospitalized at an undisclosed location, police said.
Details of the incident were included in the police complaint seeking an arrest warrant for Poplawski. The complaint says Margaret Poplawski called 911 about 7 a.m. Saturday to report that her son was "giving her a hard time." Watch officers respond at the scene »
She told police she awoke to discover that "the dog had urinated on the floor," and awakened her son "to confront him about it."
The two had an argument, and Margaret Poplawski told her son she was calling police to remove him from her home, according to the complaint. When officers Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III arrived, she opened the door and let them in.

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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/05/pittsburgh.officers.shot.dog/index.html