A grandfather who fought Pittsburgh police over his impending house eviction was confirmed dead after a six-hour gun battle that saw more than 100 shots fired.
A police source named the man as William Bill Hardison, 63, according to WPXI-TV, while relatives said the house on Broad Street in Garfield had been owned by his recently deceased brother.
Multiple SWAT teams surrounded the scene and exchanged fire with Hardison after he barricaded himself inside at around 11am following a failed attempt by police to enforce an eviction notice.
Shortly after 4.40pm a drone found the gunman 'prone' and bloody after flying around the house, and less than 30 minutes later police confirmed the man's death, according to KDKA.
'We wanted a peaceful conclusion, a surrender in this instance, and so we used various methods to accomplish that,' Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Chief Larry Scirotto said. 'With every opportunity we were met with gunfire.'
Sheriff's deputies were attempting to serve an eviction notice. The man's relatives owned the home, and when they died, he refused to leave.
Police source named the man as William Bill Hardison, 63, according to WPXI-TV, while relatives said the house on Broad Street in Garfield had been owned by his recently deceased brother
Relatives said the Hardison believed he had a right to the home he had shared with his brother
Relative Marlene Jones said Hardison's mental health had deteriorated over the past year
Hardison is said to have been well stocked with firearms and ammunition, which led to up to 100 rounds being exchanged between him and law enforcement.
His son, who is also named William Hardison, was at the scene and pleaded with his father to end the standoff.
'Dad, please surrender. Please give up,' he said. 'You have children and grandchildren that love you dearly. Please stand down.'
A woman identifying herself as the man's sister had offered herself as a go-between.
'He's a good man, he's just lost his brother and he was in the service,' the woman shouted at reporters.
But she was turned away by police who warned that the gunman might not recognize her amid the chaos.
Speculation mounted that the man might be dead after no shots were fired for an hour in the early afternoon, and police prepared a remote-controlled armored digger to break into the house.
THE SOVEREIGN CITIZEN MOVEMENT? CONSPIRACY THEORISTS WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN RULE OF LAW
'Sovereign citizens' do not believe they are bound by federal or state law, or have to comply with any type of law enforcement.
Many often do not believe that they are required to pay taxes either. The FBI considers the group to be an extremist organization.
Well-known members include Terry Nichols, the Oklahoma City bomber.
In 2010, two sovereign citizens shot and killed two police officers after being pulled over in Arkansas.
'Sovereign citizens do not represent an anarchist group, nor are they a militia, although they sometimes use or buy illegal weapons. Rather, they operate as individuals without established leadership and only come together in loosely affiliated groups to train, help each other with paperwork, or socialize and talk about their ideology,' a 2011 FBI paper on the group reads.
Many do not think they are bound by taxes, so often do not pay those.
'They often will not pay taxes; that is pretty standard across the board, many will not pay their car registration, they won't get car insurance, they don't get licenses of any kind,' Rachel Goldwasser of the Southern Poverty Law Center told FOX News.
The movement is based on a decades old conspiracy theory that the government was replaced secretly, and that the real government follows admiralty law.
<!- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/us/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->AdvertisementBut shortly after 3pm the shooting resumed and TV crews were ordered out of the area.
Family member Marlene Jones told CBS that Hardison was a father and grandfather, and that he loved his pet dogs.
She said that his brother had left the home to Hardison, but that his mental health had been deteriorating for a year.
'He just got worse and worse,' she explained.
'If they'd just let me or his girlfriend Karen go down there.
'She is preparing for the worst, she said "I think they're going to kill him".
'Whatever was in his mind told him he didn’t have to pay rent.
'He was a jokester he was like a teddy bear, he would make you laugh.
'You would be afraid of him but he was a teddy bear.'
Another family member said they had no idea what was going on but would have offered him a room if he needed a place to stay.
But neighbors described him as violent and said he boarded up the home's windows with large 'do not disturb' signs, WPXI reported.
Hardison had a criminal history and once entered a guilty plea for carrying a firearm without a license, according to local news station WTAE, and he got two years probation.
He also entered a guilty plea to forgery or altering a title or registration where he received three years probation.
Hardison pleaded guilty to an accident involving death or injury and got two years probation in 2005.
In another incident in 2001, he admitted to fleeing or attempting to elude and disorderly conduct and received six months probation.
After the brother's death, the property went to a tax sale, and now has a new owner, but the squatter has still refused to vacate.
Following his brother's death, the mortgage on the home went into arrears and more than $15,000 was owed.
It was taken over by an LLC that bought the property for $25,000 in March before filing an eviction notice against Hardison in May and claimed he was living there without paying rent.
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office was serving that eviction notice to him on Wednesday when the shooting situation began.
There have been at least nine hearings concerning the property, according to court documents.
One police source said the gunman identifies as a 'sovereign citizen', an anti-government extremist, WPXI reported.
The attorney for the new homeowners told CBS officers were warned the squatter was heavily armed and the issue of evicting him would be volatile.
Witnesses said that after banging on the door, police used a sledgehammer to get inside. It was at this point that the gunfire started.
The ordeal descended into a gunfight, and 'hundreds' of rounds were fired.
Police stormed at one point to within yards of the gunman's house to pull an immediate neighbor to safety.
Video shows SWAT teams firing on the house to give cover for the officers who raced in and dragged the neighbor into an armor-plated vehicle on the 4800 block of Broad Street and N. Mathilda Street.
Four police drones, which were deployed to circle the home to provide assistance and knowledge to the teams on the ground, were also shot down by the suspect.
People living on the 4800 block of Broad St have been told to stay in place, call 911, and wait to be evacuated by officers.
Joe Biden had been briefed on updates from the scene as the gun battle developed.
Shortly before 4pm another extended volley of shots was heard
Witnesses said that after banging on the door, police used a sledgehammer to get inside. It was at this point that the gunfire started
Multiple SWAT teams are at the scene in Pittsburgh
An Allegheny County Police SWAT vehicle responds to gunfire
Some of the first sheriff's deputies who arrived at the scene ran out of ammunition, according to initial reports.
An officer sustained a 'non-gunfire' as he fell while trying to avoid the incoming fire and no other injuries have been reported.
Around a dozen Pittsburgh SWAT officers were seen arriving at the scene, gearing up to confront the gunman.
One deputy was 'pinned down' in a defensive position during the assault. He was saved by a member of the SWAT team, CBS reported.
The ordeal took place not far from St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery and UPMC Children's Hospital.
Videos showed multiple police cars surrounding the residential street, while at least 20 gunshots can be heard in the background.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, one neighbor said he heard hundreds of rounds when the shooting started - and there have been hundreds more rounds since.
A law enforcement officer responds to gunfire in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh police and other law enforcement personnel are seen outside the home, where the occupant is still inside
Massive police presence at active shooting scene in Garfield pic.twitter.com/IJ8VNEAHnQ
— Megan Guza (@meganguzaPG) August 23, 2023
Residents have been told to avoid 4800 block of Broad Street and N. Mathilda Street in the Garfield, Pittsburgh
Chris Wilkinson, who is visiting family in the area, told CBS: 'In the beginning, all we heard was the cops. They were banging on the door where the shooting takes place.
'They were banging on it telling him they were there. And after a couple of minutes of them doing it, they started to kick down the door, but after a few tries they couldn't do it.
'Then, they got a sledgehammer and took down the door, and after that shots started to be fired. I've been really nervous and it's really sad what's happening.
'You think you can be safe here but you can't with what's happening.'
SWAT are now going door to door to evacuate everyone on the street.
As the news broke this morning, Neighborhood Academy School went into lockdown and nearby West Penn Hospital is under a partial lockdown.
Leslie Thompson, who lives in the house across the street from the commotion: 'It's unbelievable. I'm very nervous. Shots were ringing out everywhere.'
Thompson, who was working from home at the time, told CBS that she ran to the basement when she started hearing the ordeal outside her window.
She was screaming and crying while on the phone to her manager - and her home was also breached by gunfire.
Residents and neighbors struggled to find out what was happening as they were kept out of the police exclusion zone
The initial gunfire is seen producing smoke on the right side of this front door footage
Video taken at the scene showed multiple police cars surrounding the residential street, while at least 15 gunshots were fired in the background. Police gave the urgent warning this morning: 'This is an extremely active situation with shots continuing to be fired. Please avoid the area at this time'
Shots still being fired after active shooter situation at the Garfield neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
pic.twitter.com/vNgxs49XtV
The witness said the gunshots came through her window in her living room and her bathroom - which is now riddled with bullet holes.
Glass is shattered everywhere in her home, she said.
'Trying to get to the basement was almost unbearable, shots were ringing out everywhere.'
Thompson was evacuated from her home by police.
She said it's by the 'grace of God' that she is alive.
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Chief Larry Scirotto said: 'The coordinated effort saved many lives, many officers lives in a tense and rapidly uncertain environment and with that the officers preserved life.
'The subject was neutralized in the gunfight. We gave him every opportunity to surrender that's why this incident took the amount of time it took.
'It was a little over four and a half hours in which we provided ample opportunity for peaceful surrender that wasn't met without outcome.'
He added: 'I don't think anything about this incident was normal. These are environments we trained for but don't ever expect to occur. However we were very prepared for the threat that we faced.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey released a statement following the shooting and said: 'Pittsburgh – I ask for you to join us in prayer tonight for the entire community of Garfield, a peaceful neighborhood that was home to an unfortunate tragedy today.
'I want to thank all of our federal, state, and local law enforcement officials here today who worked to keep this neighborhood and our city safe, as well as to our trauma response team who has been on scene helping provide support to those who needed it.'
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