Police shoot and kill suspect after standoff, chase through two counties

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    LUZERNE COUNTY, PA (WNEP) — State police in Luzerne County confirm they shot and killed the suspect in a police chase and standoff.

The chase began in the Frackville area and ended in Hazleton, and the one who allegedly started it all, a man from Indiana is dead.

A viewer captured the chase on camera.

Police tried to pull over a truck in the Frackville area. Police wanted a passenger, from Indiana for a homicide probation violation. The driver stopped and got out.

The passenger then got behind the wheel and took off north on Interstate 81, into McAdoo, and finally drove into Hazleton. The truck finally stopped on West Beech Street.

Someone who saw it all describes a wild scene.

“I was on Poplar Street. I was going south and the semi-truck was coming up towards me, almost hit me like this far away. I could almost touch it,” said Tyler Memis. “Turned around and started flying, there was state cops, Hazleton cops. So now this dude’s down here, they say he has a gun or something and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Actually seeing the truck go by. We were at a stop sign and he flew by us, like 15 cops behind him. It was crazy,” explained Wade Ball of Bloomsburg.

The standoff lasted for three hours. A state police special emergency response team was brought in. Police told people to avoid the area, and if you couldn’t, stay inside. It was a lockdown.

On Tuesday morning, state police said the man refused to surrender. He fired a gun toward police. Police returned the fire, killing the suspect. His name has not been released.

State police say this death is under investigation with the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office.

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