
The 22-year-old Pittsburgh man who shot to death three police officers on Saturday was riled up because his mother had woken him early in the morning to discipline his dog, which was peeing on the floor. Police have charged Richard Poplawski with three counts of homicide and aggravated assault, among other charges. According to the complaint, Poplawski got heated after Margaret Poplawski roused him from his sleep. She said she then called police to have him removed from the home. Shortly afterward, officers Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III arrived, and she opened the door and let them in. “Mrs. Poplawski reported that as the officers entered approximately 10 feet into the residence, she heard gunshots, turned and saw her son about six feet away with a long rifle in his hands, at which point she fled downstairs after asking him, ‘What the hell have you done?’” the complaint said. The slain officers, according to Police Chief Nathan Harper, are Mayhle and Sciullo, two-year veterans of the Pittsburgh Police Department; and Eric Kelly, a 14-year veteran. During the four-hour standoff with police, Poplawski was shot in the leg. His mother told officers that she stayed in the basement during the bullet storm, and heard her son yell, “Yeah, I’ve been shot,” and “I’m standing down, come in and help me,” according to the complaint. He was taken to the hospital.
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