Randy Bargerstock Sr. said Saturday night’s police standoff on his typically quiet street in Lower Burrell was like something out of a movie.
“It was pretty wild,” Bargerstock said of the incident during which resident Jordan Blaise Lindner, 29, was shot by police.
“There were police everywhere, (Lindner) was shooting at the police, they were shooting at him,” Bargerstock said.
Lower Burrell police did not immediately respond to requests for comment early Sunday.
The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office issued a release Sunday saying Lindner was taken by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital after being struck by gunfire and that he is expected to survive.
Police were called at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday to Rodgers Drive for reports of gunshots into a home near the end of the cul-de-sac. Rodgers Drive is a residential street off of Leechburg Road near Glen’s Custard.
In the criminal complaint released Sunday, police say that Lindner fired into the home of a neighbor on Rodgers Drive, “which placed or may have placed, multiple residents … in danger of death or serious bodily injury.”
Jones said officers attempted to approach the suspect’s residence in a “tactical manner.”
Bargerstock described the scene as chaos.
“(Lindner) came out at one point and said, ‘Just shoot me,’ ” Bargerstock said.
Another neighbor, Caiti Enciso-Carson, said the frequency of “bangs” and “bullhorn announcements” was scary.
“Every 15 minutes, there were loud sounds — I couldn’t tell you if they were flashbangs or gunshots,” she said. “Every five minutes, police were instructing (Lindner) to come out with his hands up.
“We were concerned that if the guy took off, we didn’t know what would happen.”
Westmoreland SWAT Auxiliary barricaded the home. Jones said trained negotiators tried to talk to Lindner but to no avail.
According to Jones, Lindner fired multiple rounds through a window at SWAT operators, and they returned fire, striking him.
Lindner faces felony charges of aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, along with a misdemeanor of reckless endangerment. A preliminary hearing will be scheduled at District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec’s office.
No police officers were injured.
Enciso-Carson said the madness was out of the ordinary for the neighborhood. She lives on Florida Drive, about a block and a half away, and could hear every move from her porch.
“The only action we ever hear is traffic on the bypass,” she said. “This was chaotic and loud, consistent bang, bang, bang.
“The last sequence, we heard at least six bangs and then everything went quiet. Obviously the police handled it the way it the way they were supposed to. I’m just glad no one got killed.”
Bargerstock has lived in the neighborhood for more than 25 years. He said it’s quiet, friendly and everyone knows their neighbors.
“Stuff like this never happens,” he said.
