Garfield gunman dead after 6-hour standoff
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A gunman died in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood Wednesday night after exchanging thousands of rounds with police in a tense, six-hour standoff.
Less than 90 minutes into the standoff, during a lull in the gunfights, authorities rushed residents from Broad Street and North Mathilda Street homes out of the area. Police also escorted strollers-full of babies and toddlers from a nearby Penn Avenue daycare center to safety.
The day ended when Pittsburgh police announced on social media that the gunman had been pronounced dead at 5:08 p.m.
Sources confirmed Wednesday night that William Hardison, Jr., 63, was the shooter.
Authorities would not say Wednesday night how Hardison died. They also wouldn’t comment on the kinds of weapons and ammunition he used when shooting at authorities from the home’s first- and second-floor windows.
“We tried talking to him, we tried bringing him out,” Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus said. “Once we made contact with him at the door, we were met with deadly force. … We gave him every opportunity to surrender.”
Seven sheriff’s deputies in body armor arrived at 10:25 a.m. to evict Hardison from 4817 Broad St., which sits steps from the rustic Allegheny Cemetery near the border between Garfield and Bloomfield.
Kraus said deputies did not know Hardison was armed or a possible threat. He did confirm that the number of deputies sent out was not typical.
Hardison opened fire within minutes of sheriff’s deputies knocking on his door, according to authorities.
“They engaged in a pretty significant gun battle,” Kraus said. “We evaluated and responded accordingly.”
“I can’t even tell you the number of volleys” of gunfire there were, he added. “He had a lot of ammunition in that house.”
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus talking about the shooting/standoff in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood pic.twitter.com/YdT3pbITSB
— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) August 24, 2023
Halfway through the standoff, state police Trooper Rocco Gagliardi said officers were working to address what to do if they ran out of ammunition. Cars repeatedly crossed the police tape on Penn Avenue with supplies — from ammo to bottled water.
No police were shot during the standoff, officials said. One deputy suffered a “superficial head injury” when he dived for cover as Hardisan opened fire, Kraus said.
Law enforcement then responded to the scene en masse.
Sheriff’s deputies were joined by Pittsburgh police, Allegheny County Police, multiple SWAT teams, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. City police oversaw operations at the scene, while state police will lead the investigation to follow.
Authorities said negotiators attempted to speak with Hardison but he continued shooting. Pittsburgh police also deployed three or four drones to connect with the gunman but Hardison shot them down, Pittsburgh police Chief Larry Scirotto said.
Pittsburgh’s Public Safety Department announced late Wednesday that “City of Pittsburgh social workers and trauma support teams from the Office of Community Health & Safety will be making themselves available in Garfield and throughout the city to ensure community members have access to the support services they might require following this traumatic event.”
“Our Public Safety personnel — a family — , the community of Garfield, and indeed the entire City of Pittsburgh, suffered a collective trauma today in experiencing this unfortunate incident,” said Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt in a statement. “… I will ensure that our Public Safety employees, in addition to community members, are afforded all of the services they need to help process what they have witnessed today.”
Allegheny County Court records show that a complaint to evict Hardison from 4817 Broad St., where the standoff happened, was filed May 10 by a company called 907 East Street LLC.
The filing said the company bought the property on Feb. 2 from Hardison’s father — William Hardison Sr. — who had inherited it after a family member’s death on March 11, 2021.
The eviction paperwork said Hardison occupied the property illegally after it was sold to 907 East Street LLC for $25,000.
On Aug. 2, Hardison was served with eviction paperwork and given notice that eviction would occur at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The address listed for 907 East St. LLC goes to a Trafford location linked to Penn-Pioneer Enterprises. That company bills itself as a real estate business specializing in buying and selling properties to investors. The company’s website offers to “sell your home fast.”
A message left for the attorney representing 907 East Street LLC in the eviction action was not immediately returned.
Hardison also was the subject of an eviction from a Marshall-Shadeland apartment last year, records show.
Records show Hardison had a lengthy criminal record that included a case where he pleaded guilty last year to a felony count of carrying a firearm without a license.
Wilkinsburg police tried to pull over a pickup driven by Hardison on Nov. 26, 2019 after he failed to stop at two red lights, according to a criminal complaint in the case. Hardison pulled over a couple of streets away and started to walk off.
“(Hardison) stated, ‘I don’t answer to you,’ and continued to walk away,” police wrote in the complaint, adding that Hardison “continuously stated that he was a ‘moor,’ and that he doesn’t answer to police … (and) that he was not in our jurisdiction.”
Police found a loaded handgun inside the pickup, as well as bullets and brass knuckles, the complaint said.
He was ordered to serve two years of probation.
‘Never seen anything like this’
Jordan Botta, a former Pittsburgh City Council candidate who lives in nearby Bloomfield, said he went to the area of the shootout after hearing what he described as “hundreds, if not thousands of rounds” being fired.
“It’s surreal. I’ve never seen anything like this up close,” Botta said. “It’s really weird to see in your neighborhood.”
“I don’t think anything about this incident is normal,” Pittsburgh police Chief Larry Scirotto later quipped.
Raw video of Pittsburgh Police Chief Larry Scirotto briefing the media on the shooting/standoff in the city’s Garfield neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/jBc3CpXkPY
— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) August 24, 2023
Derek Miller, a 20-year U.S. Army vet deployed twice to war overseas, was laying sub-flooring at 4815 Broad St., a house next door to Hardison that Miller said he bought to renovate and possibly sell.
He immediately recognized what the noises coming from his neighbor’s house were.
“I’ve been in Iraq, Afghanistan,” said Miller, 41, of Mt. Lebanon. “I said, ‘I’m out.’”
Miller ran out of his cellar doors and cut through an alley to make it off the block. He called the standoff “terrifying for the whole community.”
“You never know what’s going on in someone’s head,” he said.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m., Pittsburgh Public Safety reported on social media that the incident remained “an extremely active situation with shots continuing to be fired.”
It remained that way late into the afternoon. Around 3:20 p.m., a barrage of gunfire was followed by several loud bangs.
Some people, who identified themselves as Hardison’s family, screamed for the shooting to stop as they assembled along yellow police tape at the intersection of Penn Avenue and South Mathilda Street.
The shooting resumed about 20 minutes later. More shooting would follow, followed by a loud bang just before 5 p.m.
Individuals who identified themselves as family members of the gunman declined to talk with reporters.
Leslie Thompson, who has lived on Broad Street for 15 years, was working from home when the shooting started.
She quickly ran to her basement after hearing what she called “a barrage of gunfire.” On her way there, she spotted bullet holes on walls inside her home.
“It’s just very, very frightening,” Thompson said. “I’m just hunkering down in this basement, in this corner.”
A short time later, police managed to safely escort her out of her home.
Christopher Wilkinson, 12, who lives in Shaler but was visiting cousins who live in the area of the shooting in Garfield, also was evacuated from the area.
When he heard the gunshots he huddled with family in his cousin’s living room, as far away as they could get from the windows.
“It was really scary to hearing firing so close to us,” he said. “But I felt really safe when the police knocked on the door and we were able to evacuate.”
Despite the ongoing sound of shots being fired in the area, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh spokeswoman Andrea Yorchuck issued a statement saying that the suspected gunman was “accounted for and there is no direct threat to patients, staff or visitors.”
The hospital is located on Penn Avenue, about a half-mile from the shooting scene.
“Enhanced security is now present on campus and will continue through the day,” Yorchuck said.
‘Please don’t kill him’
Sandra Webb, who said Hardison’s family called her Wednesday looking to connect with him, has lived in Garfield for more than half a century.
She repeatedly wept and wailed when gunfire broke out.
“That’s his brother’s house,” said Webb, 64. “I do not want them to hurt him.”
“Please don’t kill him, please don’t kill him,” another woman prayed as she paced on Penn Avenue. The woman said she was a relative of Hardison but wouldn’t speak with reporters.
Michael Pennix also calls Garfield home. He saw Hardison just about every week, and called him “Mr. Bill.”
“He was a good guy — they didn’t have to do all of this,” Pennix, 47, told reporters. “They shouldn’t have approached the man’s house like that.”
Gagliardi, the state trooper, called the standoff “a long day for all law enforcement involved.” He also praised the “situational awareness” of sheriff deputies and other officers.
“To them this might have just been a simple eviction notice, which they probably do thousands of times a year,” Gagliardi said. “They were on their toes. They were doing their job and had great situational awareness. Even when they arrive on scene for something maybe as simple as an eviction notice, they were able to take cover right away and ask for additional units to help out.”
Gagliardi said he could not confirm how many houses were struck with bullets.
He also could not confirm when affected Garfield residents would be able to return to their homes.
“It was a real collective effort, because at the end of the day if you’re going to shoot at one of our brothers or sisters, everyone’s coming to help out. And that’s what we had here today,” he added.
Staff writer Michael DiVittorio contributed to this report.