Shooting Suspect Kills Himself after 12-Hour Standoff in Jefferson County, Trooper in Critical Condition

DUBOIS, Pa. – Pennsylvania State Police have confirmed that a suspect is dead in the shooting of a PA State Trooper.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. yesterday Pennsylvania State Trooper Bradley Wilson was shot and critically wounded while trying to serve a warrant at a residence along Cemetery Hill Road, just outside of Brockway, in Jefferson County, according to sources.

Wilson was flown to UPMC Altoona Hospital; he is reportedly awake and conscious, sources say.

Wilson and another trooper were trying to serve a warrant to Kenneth Lees Sr. at his home on Cemetery Hill Road in Brockway when a shot rang out, and one trooper was shot in the neck. The other trooper pulled Wilson to safety, according to wjactv.com.

The suspect’s house was surrounded by State Police SERT teams in what was being called an “active shooter” situation, according to sources.

The area was blocked off, and officials asked all people to stay inside and away from the scene.

After a standoff that lasted approximately 12 hours, Kenneth Lees Sr. shot and killed himself, police say.

Schools in Brockway School District were on lockdown yesterday for approximately four hours, but that lockdown was lifted, according to sources.

Officials say Wilson was in critical condition as of late Thursday evening.

The investigation is ongoing.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE

DuBois Station – Officer involved shooting that occurred on September 26, 2013 at 1881 Cemetery Hill Road, Snyder Township, Jefferson County.

Incident Number: C04-1138998

Lead Investigator: Corporal Gregory Raybuck

This incident occurred as members of the Pennsylvania State police and the Jefferson County Drug Task Force were serving a search warrant on the occupants of the Kenneth Lees Sr. residence located at 1881 Cemetery Hill Road, near the Borough of Brockway, Snyder Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.

Upon approaching the front door of the residence and announcing their identity and possession of a lawful search warrant, the officers were met with gunfire from an occupant of the home. Trooper First Class Bradley Wilson was struck in the neck and upper torso by two bullets fired from the residence and was immediately incapacitated. Troopers and officers on scene then returned fire and successfully extricated the wounded Trooper from the scene.

Trooper Wilson was taken by ambulance to the DuBois Regional Medical Center in DuBois, Pennsylvania and once stabilized; he was transferred by medical helicopter to Altoona Regional Medical Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania for emergency surgery. He was then transported to UPMC in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for further treatment. His condition is currently listed as critical.

At the scene, law enforcement established a perimeter around the Lees residence and attempted to make contact with the occupants to negotiate their surrender. All attempts to communicate with the occupants of the home were unsuccessful. At approximately 1 a.m. on September 27, 2013, members of the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team made entry into the Lees residence to discover the sole occupant; Kenneth Lees Sr., deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Pennsylvania State Police were assisted in this incident by the Jefferson County Emergency Management Association, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Brockway Borough Police Department, the Brookville Borough Police Department, the Sykesville Borough Police Department, the Reynoldsville Borough Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Brockway Volunteer Fire Department, the DuBois City Volunteer Fire Department, and the Brockway Volunteer Ambulance Service.