Coroner identifies Allegheny County man killed in 'police-involved shooting' in North Huntingdon

An Allegheny County man was identified as the person who was killed Tuesday in North Huntingdon during a narcotics investigation involving agents from the state Attorney General’s Office.

Dontae D. Warner, 30, of McKeesport “became involved in an interaction with multiple police departments” and died in a parking lot behind the Huntingdon Inn Motel on Route 30, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said in a news release. An autopsy Wednesday determined he died from gunshot wounds, according to a joint news release from state police and the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office that provided scant new details.

“Upon shots being fired by officers, (Warner) was found deceased inside of a vehicle,” according to the statement, which did not say where or how many times Warner was shot.

Members of the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether the use of deadly force was justified, according to a statement. Relatives of Warner could not be reached Wednesday.

It remains unclear what happened before the 1:50 p.m. shooting, if Warner had a gun or for what agency or department those involved with the shooting work. A spokesman for the state Attorney General’s Office said agents fired their weapons.

No officers were hurt.

Brian Price said he was in his room in the rear of the motel when “all hell broke loose.” He heard a loud boom, which he surmised was a van he believed was being driven by Warner hitting his car in the parking lot.

“I said ‘What the heck is going on?’ ” he said. “The next thing I heard was gunshots, like 12 of them.”

A North Huntingdon police officer told him to get down, and the van plowed through brush and weeds about 30 feet behind the motel. Shattered glass could be seen in that area Wednesday.

Price, a former Trafford resident, said he was escorted by police out of his room afterward.

As the incident unfolded, a large contingent of police cars was parked in front of the Huntingdon Inn Motel, just west of the intersection of Carpenter Lane and Route 30. The situation affected Route 30 traffic for more than an hour, and a nearby elementary school was placed on a modified lockdown after being notified by township police of a “community threat.”

The situation was reported by police to be under control by 2:40 p.m.

Warner had some run-ins with the law in the past, including a couple of probation and jail terms related to drug, resisting arrest and receiving stolen property offenses in separate Allegheny County cases, according to court records.

He was awaiting a nonjury trial next month in connection with a March 25 incident at the Enclave night club on Pittsburgh’s South Side.

Pittsburgh police said they saw Warner fight with night club staff members and threaten to harm them. He is accused of fleeing from police, according to court papers. They found him hiding underneath a vehicle at the intersection of South 17th and Roland streets. He was charged with terroristic threats, evading detention, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

The Huntingdon Inn Motel is owned by Hitesh Mehta, who purchased it in 2007, according to documents filed with the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds. He was not there at the time of the shooting.

It was the second time someone has been fatally shot by police in two months in Westmoreland County. Ligonier Township police July 2 killed Robbie Thomas Saunders, 59, as he approached them with a machete. Two officers were investigating a reported domestic situation at his Gravel Hill Road home.

The shooting was ruled justified by District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli.