The use of deadly force by police in fatally shooting a Derry Township man in November was ruled justified by Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli.
State and Latrobe police faced an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death when they responded to a domestic disturbance and were met by 28-year-old Ryan Huinker, who fired in the direction of police, Ziccarelli said in a statement released Friday.
State police previously said they were called about 6:30 p.m. to James Street on Nov. 15 after a newlywed reported her husband was in the basement firing a gun. It was the fifth time in less than a year police were called to the home on quiet James Street in Derry Township near the border of Latrobe.
The wife had fled to another house.
When police got there, they believed Huinker was inside his home and armed, Ziccarelli said in the statement.
He emerged onto the front porch and shouted expletives at police, asking them to shoot him, as they instructed him to keep his hands up. Ziccarelli said an officer spotted a gun in Huinker’s waistband and relayed the information to the other police on scene.
When Huinker tried to go back inside, a state trooper fired a Taser, dropping Huinker to his knees. As police moved in to arrest him, Ziccarelli said, Huinker grabbed his gun, pointed it in the direction of two officers and fired.
“Several officers returned fire and struck Huinker and he ultimately succumbed to his injuries,” she said in the statement.
The decision that the shooting was justified was based on a review of evidence, police reports and witness statements, Ziccarelli said.
Huinker had lived in the home with a woman for about six months to a year, neighbors said. A marriage license indicates he married Brittany Fassett on Nov. 6 at a district court office, according to Westmoreland County records.
Huinker listed a North Dakota address on the marriage license and reported being born in Minnesota. He was divorced from a previous marriage in February 2024 in Minnesota, according to records.
A white Dodge pickup sat in the driveway with “Huinker” listed on a North Dakota license plate in the days after the shooting.
