Pittsburgh police shoot, kill suspect sought in death of Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, police chief

Law enforcement officers say the suspect had been killed after a car and foot chase through two Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

• By Oliver Morrison and Cindi Lash/WESA

Hours after a pair of shootings in which the Brackenridge police chief was killed and another officer was wounded on Monday, Pittsburgh Police shot and killed a man identified as the suspect in those shootings after they said he crashed a stolen car and shot at them in Homewood North.

At a news conference Monday night, Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Police officials said the suspect in the Brackenridge shootings earlier in the day had himself been killed after a car and foot chase through the Lincoln-Lemington and Homewood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.

They earlier identified him as Aaron Lamont Swan Jr., 28, of Duquesne, and referred to him as the “armed and very dangerous” suspect in the fatal shooting of Brackenridge Chief Justin McIntire and wounding a second, unidentified officer from nearby Tarentum on Monday afternoon.

Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said police throughout the region had been looking for Swan in response to an alert issued after the Brackenridge shootings. The alert identified him and described the silver Subaru he was believed to be driving after stealing it during a carjacking after the Brackenridge shootings.

Swan also was known to frequent Penn Hills, and in response, Pittsburgh police in Zone 5 — which borders that municipality — saturated neighborhoods there, Kearns said. City officers located the vehicle stolen in the carjacking around Shetland Street in Larimer, but when they attempted to stop it, the driver fled, he said.

Officers pursued the car through Lincoln-Lemington and Homewood North until the driver crashed near Columbia Avenue, Kearns said. The driver ran into the woods and then, as officers began to surround him, fled to Mohler Court, where he fired at police. Police returned fire and struck him, Kearns said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Based on the description of the driver and the circumstances of the chase and car description, investigators believe the driver was Swan, Kearns said.

The police investigation of the shootings is continuing, Kearns said, but “We thought it was important to get it out to the public that we no longer think the suspect is at large.”

Kearns said that Allegheny County Police typically investigate shootings in which Pittsburgh officers are involved, so county police are leading investigations of all three shootings.

Police initially began pursuing Swan because he was wanted for probation violations, police said. Earlier in the day, he’d been involved in an hours-long chase with officers through neighborhoods in Brackenridge, a borough about 21 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

At 4:15 p.m., a Brackenridge officer spotted the suspect in the 800 block of Third Street, which led to another foot chase, Kearns said. During that chase, the two officers were shot in separate incidents — one in that block, and a second a few blocks away on Brackenridge Avenue, he said.

McIntire was shot in the head and died at the scene, police said. The second officer, who was shot in the leg, was in stable condition Monday night at a hospital where he’d been taken for treatment.

Police officials did not immediately release the identity of either officer. But in a tweet, Pennsylvania Attorney General and governor-elect Josh Shapiro identified the officer who died as McIntire, saying he “ran towards danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe — and he made the ultimate sacrifice in service to [his] community.”

Today’s tragedy in Brackenridge is a devastating reminder of the bravery of those who put their lives on the line every day to protect us.

Police Chief Justin McIntire ran towards danger to keep Pennsylvanians safe — and he made the ultimate sacrifice in service to community.

— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) January 3, 2023

The Brackenridge Police Department comprises a chief, a sergeant and two patrol officers, according to its website.

After the shooting, Kearns said, the suspect stole the silver Subaru Legacy during a carjacking several blocks away on Pacific Avenue. County Police Assistant Superintendent Victor Joseph said the occupants of the stolen car were not injured.