Suspect in McKeesport police shooting threatened to go on 'killing spree' weeks earlier, officials say

The warning was dire: a McKeesport man named Johnathan Morris was threatening to go on a “killing spree.”

It was Jan. 13 — three weeks before investigators say Morris, an ex-Marine and son of a former McKeesport police officer, abruptly opened fire on two of his mother’s former colleagues, killing one.

Florida authorities contacted Allegheny County that afternoon, alerting them that Morris was making threats to a Pensacola credit union, according to records obtained by the Tribune-Review.

Police were sent to his house. Nobody was home.

That wouldn’t be the only time Morris’ name came up in conversation at the McKeesport police station before Monday’s gunfire.

The night before officers Sean Sluganski and Chuck Thomas were shot, someone fired three bullets into a nearby corner store. Police suspected that Morris might be the culprit. The incident has gone unreported until now.

When Sluganski and Thomas were dispatched Monday afternoon to check on Morris, who was having a fight with his mother, they were told that he was violent, had access to weapons and had served in the military, according to police radio traffic recordings.

What they knew, if anything, of the earlier threats and the shooting incident is unknown.

On Wednesday, McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko refused to address the issue.

“Out of respect for the Sluganski family, they’re not going to be discussing any specifics about the suspect at this time,” a woman from the mayor’s office said.

Vigil in Renzi Park about to begin for fallen McKeesport officer pic.twitter.com/cDxiQRZms5

— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) February 8, 2023

Morris is charged with homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, assault of a law enforcement officer and related charges stemming from the shooting on Grandview Avenue on Monday afternoon.

At 12:14 p.m. that day, Sluganski and Thomas were dispatched to 1411 Wilson St. for a report of a domestic dispute. The caller, Morris’ mother, Candace Tyler, said her son had PTSD and was being violent, according to a court records and radio traffic.

Tyler, who’d been a McKeesport police officer for 16 years before she was fired in 2021, told the call taker that Morris was ex-military and had weapons accessible to him, including a handgun.

“They’re saying there are weapons in the house but they’re secure,” the dispatcher said. “There are guns, but they are secure per the caller on this.”

A criminal complaint filed in that incident said Morris walked away from the house by the time officers had arrived.

They were able to track him, and a few minutes later, he shot Thomas, who was in his patrol vehicle, and then shot Sluganski.

Sluganski died a short time later at UPMC McKeesport hospital. Thomas, who was shot in the face and neck, was transported to an area hospital and has since been released.

The Florida incident

In the incident in Florida, according to records from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, dispatchers there received a call from the Navy Federal Credit Union in Pensacola at 12:10 p.m. Jan. 13.

The report said Morris, who was identified by address and date of birth, had “made threats to go on a killing spree due to money issues with Navy Federal.” It remains unclear exactly why Morris called that branch.

The Florida department contacted Allegheny County asking that a welfare check be made in McKeesport at 1411 Wilson St.

About 90 minutes later, at 1:37 p.m., according to archived police radio traffic, McKeesport police were dispatched to that address.

“I have an out-of-state police department requesting a welfare check at 1411 Wilson St. It will be on a Johnathan Morris. He made threats to a credit union over the phone (that) he’s going to go on a killing spree,” the dispatcher said. “Officer’s requesting a call back. His number’s in the call.”

One officer asked if there had been any priors at that address, and the dispatcher responded, “That’s negative.”

Then, another officer only identified by his call sign, said, “I’m on Wilson. What’s the name again?”

“It’s going to be a Johnathan Morris,” dispatch said.

Then, an officer said: “We’re getting no response at the door. No vehicles are here. Are they sure about the address?”

“That’s affirmative. I do have a phone number for the Black male and for the police deputy, as well,” the dispatcher answered.

At 1:49 p.m., an officer said, “Unable to make contact,” and the call ended.

It is unclear what, if any, follow-up by the McKeesport police occurred.

Sunday evening: 3 shots fired

Then, at 7:42 p.m. Sunday, according to law enforcement sources and radio dispatch recordings, McKeesport police were summoned to the 3100 block of Versailles Avenue for a ShotSpotter alert that three rounds had been fired.

Radio dispatch recordings show that officers responded to the intersection of Sumac Street and Versailles Avenue for a report of shots fired.

At a corner store there, according to law enforcement, a clerk reported that a man had gotten angry, left the store and then, about a minute later, fired three rounds into the building.

Police believed that person was Morris, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

It is unclear what became of any investigation into the corner store incident, but no charges had been filed against Morris on Sunday or Monday prior to when Sluganski and Thomas were shot.

Morris in the Marines

According to military records, Morris enlisted in the Marine Corps in San Diego in 2011.

He spent more than seven years in the service, including a three-month stint in Afghanistan in 2013.

Morris, an inventory management specialist, was promoted to sergeant in 2016 and left the Marines in December 2018.

At the time, he was stationed at Marine Forces Command in Indian Head, Md. A military spokesman said discharge information for service members was confidential.

Morris was shot during the incident on Monday. He was released from UPMC Presbyterian on Thursday and taken to the Allegheny County Jail. He was arraigned via video and denied bail.

A Funeral Mass for Sluganski is set for Tuesday.