OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A man accused of trying to kill his estranged girlfriend Saturday morning in Pittsburgh remains on the run after fleeing to Butler County.
Law enforcement officers on Saturday spent more than 10 hours in Oakland Township looking for Robert Amend, 49, of Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood.
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Residents in the area told Channel 11’s Joe Holden on Monday that they’ve seen him.
“There was this guy standing in the middle of my yard and all the sudden looks like I surprised him,” a resident who only wanted to be identified as Jim said.
Jim said Amend told him that his truck had broken down in the woods after some off-roading, and he was only wearing jeans and had a water bottle.
“Then I realized who he was, so I talked to him. (He) asked if (he) could use (my) phone, and I was like, ‘No,’” Jim said. “You know, he doesn't even know where he was or what road he was on.”
Amend allegedly shot Tina Thornton multiple times after forcing his way into an apartment in Pittsburgh's Crafton Heights neighborhood, according to state police.
Thornton’s adult daughter, who lives at the apartment, told police that her mom and Amend began to “tussle.” Amend pulled out a gun and aimed it at Thornton’s head, then at his own and again at Thornton’s.
According to a criminal complaint, Thornton’s daughter said Amend pulled the trigger and missed, but then fired two more shots, hitting her mom.
After fleeing, Amend led officers on a chase into Oakland Township. Police used spike strips in an attempt to stop him, but Amend ditched his vehicle near a trailer park and ran.
A SWAT team was called around 2 p.m. Saturday to aid in the search, which was focused in a wooded area surrounding the trailer park, near Oakland Township Elementary School.
An organized search for Robert Amend was called off about 9 p.m. Saturday. State police continue to patrol the area.
Police said Thornton was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds in her side and leg, and she is expected to survive.
Robert Amend faces charges including criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.
According to court papers, Robert Amend stalked Thornton on numerous occasions.