POTTSTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A man was killed by police in Pottstown after fleeing the scene of a car crash, barricading himself in his home for five hours, and shooting an officer, authorities said.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, police received a report of a two-car crash at Beech and North Mount Vernon streets.
When police arrived, one of the drivers — later identified as 25-year-old Andrew Jackson Ecker — reached for a gun. There was a struggle and he fled on foot. He ran a few blocks away to his house on Winding Road, where he fired multiple times at police.
Ecker struck one officer, Caleb Whitney, in the shoulder, officials said. Whitney was taken to the hospital in stable condition and released later that night.
Ecker barricaded himself in his house for more than five hours. One of his relatives helped set up communications between the suspect and a SWAT negotiator, but by 10:45 p.m., police had fatally shot Ecker.
Neighbor Hillary Lavender told NBC10 that she knew Ecker.
“I’ve known him for four years. He’s very young. I can’t believe he is throwing his life away,” she said.
Lavender said he came by her home asking for money shortly before the car crash.
“It’s really scary, especially when he shows up to your house right before all this, and he has a gun on his waistband,” she said.