Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Police Wound Man After He Aims Rifle at Officers

Pennsylvania troopers shot a suburban Pittsburgh man after they said he aimed a rifle at them and refused to drop the weapon.

Samuel Wheeler, 24, was struck in the hand and forearm area during the confrontation in Butler Township early Sunday. He's under guard at a Pittsburgh hospital.

Police said Wheeler will be charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, assault of law enforcement officers and reckless endangerment.

Information on a lawyer to comment on the charges wasn't immediately available.

Police said Wheeler threatened to kill a family member with a knife and pointed the rifle at that person and another relative before going outside and firing shots into the air.

The troopers fired at least three shots from about 60 yards away, police said. One used an AR-15 patrol rifle. Another used a .45-caliber pistol.

"Instead of dropping the weapon, the man raised the rifle and was taking aim toward the troopers at a distance of about 60 yards,'' the state police said in a news release.

Troopers tracked a fleeing Wheeler through the snow, police said.

The two troopers involved in the shooting have been put on administrative duties. State police haven't released their names.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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