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Intruder killed during home invasion in Penn Hills
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One man is dead and two others were on the lam Wednesday night after they snuck into a Penn Hills home and a struggle ensued.
Allegheny County officials were still working late Wednesday night to identify the dead intruder -- a black man who had a goatee and a moustache and who did not carry identification -- and to develop leads on the two other men who also followed a homeowner through the garage and into the house on Edinburg Drive.
County police released few details about the people living in the home. Neighbors said a couple in their mid- to late 30s live at the house with two school-age children.
Homicide Lt. Andrew Schurman said one of the homeowners dropped the children off at school and returned about 7:30 a.m., when three masked men followed the person into the garage and then inside the house.
"Once they got in there, there was a very violent struggle," county police Assistant Superintendent James Morton said.
Police provided few details about the confrontation. They said a male resident fatally wounded one of the intruders and pushed him out the front door and onto the porch. The county medical examiner's office found during an autopsy that the man died of a stab wound to the back and had additional stab wounds on his back and neck. Examiners ruled the death a homicide.
The two other intruders left in a newer model black Chrysler 300 before police arrived.
Lt. Schurman said police didn't have a clear motive for the invasion on Wednesday afternoon. Superintendent Morton said it was "a unique situation" and "random as far as we know right now."
Police said the homeowners are cooperating and were not seriously injured.
"The thought that it would be something random is really terrifying," said Kevin Barefoot, who lives nearby.
Anyone with information is asked to call county homicide at 412-473-1300. Callers may remain anonymous.
First Published December 19, 2012 10:14 am
