County detectives: Woman dies after being shot by Greensburg police

A woman died Wednesday after being shot by Greensburg police, according to Westmoreland County detectives.

Police said the woman refused to drop her handgun after firing at a vehicle across the street.

Her identity has not been disclosed. No one else was hurt, according to police.

The woman started shooting from a porch on Grant Street about 3:30 p.m. at a vehicle on nearby Harvey Avenue, city police Capt. Robert Stafford said.

When officers arrived, the woman refused to drop her weapon, police said. They shot her once with a nonlethal beanbag shotgun, which knocked her down. She stood up and was still holding the gun, Stafford said.

Officers then opened fire with their weapons, he said.

It is unknown how many officers shot the woman or how many times she was shot.

She was taken to a nearby hospital.

Several shell casings were scattered on Grant Street.

Police said one round fired by the woman broke the glass front door of an office building at 357 Harvey Ave., which houses Deluzio & Co. accountants, the American Red Cross and Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.

The county coroner’s office responded to the scene, which is near Lynch Field and several blocks north of where Harvey Avenue intersects with Route 119.

More than a dozen police officers and detectives also were on the scene, including a K-9 unit. Grant Street was closed during the investigation.

Neighbor Colby Spacht said he was getting ready to leave his Harvey Avenue home to pick up his daughter from the bus stop when he heard four gunshots.

He said that wasn’t unusual, however, since he can hear gunshots from the state police firing range off Westmoreland Avenue.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” he said.

Then he saw the line of police vehicles and was told Grant Street was closed.