Beaver County DA: ATF agent justified in fatal shooting of Aliquippa teen

A teen killed in Aliquippa by a federal agent last month was the first to pull the trigger, shooting twice with a semiautomatic handgun before the officer returned fire, Beaver County District Attorney Nathan Bible announced Wednesday.

Kendrick Curtis Jr., 18, was shot around 6:20 p.m. Sept. 18 on steps near the Linmar Terrace apartment complex after he fired a 9 mm pistol at an officer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Bible said.

The district attorney’s office does not plan to criminally charge the ATF agent, who has not been publicly identified.

“Based on what we have from witness interviews, from the physical evidence and the video footage, it’s a justifiable use of force,” Bible told TribLive after a Wednesday news conference.

The agent shouted, “Show me your hands! Police!” before Curtis shot twice in their direction, Bible told TribLive. The agent shot Curtis once in the head.

The teen was flown to Allegheny General Hospital, where he died early the next day.

Bible said four shootings by law enforcement officers have been reported in Beaver County since he took office in 2024. This is the first time the DA has made public statements about his findings in these types of cases.

“In any officer-involved shooting, I generally do not release the findings,” Bible said Wednesday. “It would be no different than if a private citizen was investigated for a crime and then we ultimately decided no charges were going to be pressed.”

“This is kind of a unique situation.”

Two officers — a municipal police officer and an FBI special agent — were traveling with the ATF agent in a black SUV before the shooting, Bible said. The group was working in Aliquippa as part of the FBI’s Safe Streets program.

That program, composed of federal and local law enforcement, attempts to minimize community violence and focuses largely on gang activity, the FBI said on its website. The bureau’s Safe Streets and Gang Unit currently runs 178 task forces nationwide.

Bible said an informant told the ATF agent that an “unknown individual” was carrying a gun near Linmar Terrace. The ATF agent then spotted a man, later identified as Curtis, who matched the informant’s description of the suspect.

After the shooting, authorities found one of the bullets Curtis fired inside the SUV’s passenger door, Bible said.

Authorities said they also recovered Curtis’s Glock 9 mm handgun, which had been reported stolen in Ambridge. The gun’s extended magazine had seven rounds in it and one round in the chamber.

No officers were injured during the incident, according to Pennsylvania State Police, which investigated the shooting.

Curtis was a student at Aliquippa High School, school officials said.

Aliquippa School District Superintendent Phillip Woods said in a letter to parents that the 950-student district was “grieving together.”

“The loss of a classmate, student and friend is difficult for everyone — especially our children,” Woods wrote.

The probe into the shooting continues, Bible told TribLive. Investigators plan to test ballistics and also examine Curtis’ hands for gunshot residue.

But Bible said he offered preliminary details to the public because “false narratives” were spreading about what happened at the apartment complex, a low-income development run by the Housing Authority of the County of Beaver.

“Everybody thought, ‘We need to go out there and explain what happened,’” Bible said. “I think today certainly served its purpose.”