Ligonier Township, Pennsylvania (LVPD)— On Sunday, July 2, 2023, at approximately 3:50 p.m., two officers from the Ligonier Valley Police Department were dispatched to an address on Gravel Hill Road in Ligonier Township for the report of a domestic disturbance. As heard on the 911 correspondence, the caller relayed to emergency dispatchers that the man inside the home had a machete and was threatening to kill a woman inside the house. Both officers arrived simultaneously and found two victims outside the residence unharmed. One of the victims told officers, 59-year-old Robbie Saunders, was still inside the house and was believed to have a knife, described as a machete. Both officers approached the front door of the home and attempted to make contact with the man inside, later identified as Saunders.
He could be seen on body camera footage wielding a 14- inch machete in his hand. Saunders approached officers with the machete in his hand and within feet of officers. Ligonier Valley Police verbally ordered Saunders to drop the weapon, but he did not comply. Saunders was simultaneously struck with a stun gun and with a bullet from a police-issued firearm.
Both officers rendered aid to Saunders as they waited for medical personnel to arrive to the scene. Saunders was transported to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown where he succumbed to his injuries. Both officers were placed on administrative protocol while county detectives investigated the circumstances of the officer-involved shooting. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli reviewed multiple videos from the scene, reports, witness interviews and evidence and has determined the use of deadly force was justified.
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