A gunman who robbed the Marriott Courtyard hotel at the Waterfront late last night fired a gun at a pursing Homestead police officer during a car chase, causing the police cruiser to veer off the roadway and into a hillside.

The officer was not seriously injured but received some shattered glass in his eyes. The robber fled on the Parkway East inbound and remains at large.

According to West Homestead police, the robber--a fully bearded black man wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt--entered the lobby about 11:03 p.m. He pointed a gun at the desk clerk, demanded money and, upon receiving $221, fled in a full-size gold Chevrolet pickup truck.

The robbery was reported to police and a minute later the Homestead officer spotted the escaping robber fleeing on the Homestead Grays Bridge.

The suspect refused to pull over and fired shots at the pursuing officer, causing the cruiser to go off the roadway and into the hillside near the Parkway's Monroeville overpass. The robber continued onto the Parkway inbound.