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Medical examiner ID's suspect in Route 51 shootout with police

PITTSBURGH — The medical examiner’s office has identified a rifle-wielding man who was killed in an exchange of gunfire with officers after shooting at people and carjacking a vehicle in Pittsburgh Monday morning.

Lt. Edward Cunningham of the Zone 3 Police Department said the incident started just after 10 a.m. with a report of shots fired in the area of Jucunda Street.

Gloria Perrucci told Channel 11's Courtney Brennan she heard gunfire.

“A bunch of gunshots going off and when I looked out, that’s when I saw him coming through the house,” Perrucci said.

Perrucci said she saw the suspect running through her Knoxville neighborhood with “a big rifle, a big gun -- he didn’t look familiar.”

She said she watched him go down through her yard and onto Rochelle Street.

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“There was a car parked there and he started shooting. The car started to back up to get away from him,” Perrucci said.

Chief Cameron McLay said the suspect fired upon a vehicle on Route 51 with two people inside.

“At approximately 10:18, the 911 center received another report that an actor fired upon an occupied vehicle,” McLay said.

A man in that vehicle was injured and a woman was uninjured. Both were able to flee the scene.

A man later reported that his vehicle was carjacked.

McLay said the carjacker then fired on an approaching sheriff's deputy, hitting his windshield.

"This was a very dangerous situation for the City of Pittsburgh. I was deeply concerned for the welfare of this community," McLay said.

A woman was taken to a hospital after a collision with a pursuing law enforcement vehicle.

After the vehicle was stopped in traffic in the area of Bausman Street and Route 51, the man fired on approaching officers who returned fire, and he died minutes later.

Chopper 11 flew over the scene and showed several dozen shell casings (RAW CHOPPER 11 VIDEO).

The medical examiner’s office identified the suspect in Monday's shootout with police as 20-year-old Tyrone Harris Jr.

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“This suspect is known to police as having been involved in previous incidents,” McLay said at a Monday evening press conference.

McLay said the motive for the gunfire remains under investigation.

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According to Vince Myer and Leonardo Almaro, the shooter also fired at them as they were driving home.

“When we first pulled up, he thought they were fireworks, and I said, ‘No, they’re shots,’” Myer said.

Myer and Almaro said the shots missed them by inches.

“It just shattered in the back because it went through both windows,” Myer said.

The outbound Liberty Tunnel and Route 51, which were closed for several hours, reopened just before 4 p.m.

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Edna Roach didn't witness the shooting, but told Channel 11's Damany Lewis that she was walking nearby as police investigated the scene.

Roach is all too familiar with gun violence. She said she’s lost two children in shootings.

“I lost my oldest son in 1995, and 17 years later, I lost my daughter -- both to gun violence. We got to put the guns down,” she said.

WPXI

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