Man dead after chase fired gun before trooper shot

PITTSBURGH (AP) — State police say a mentally distressed man who died of a gunshot wound after leading police on a high-speed chase in western Pennsylvania discharged his own weapon before a trooper shot at him.

Investigators were attempting to determine whether 22-year-old Ryan Senko of East Huntingdon Township was fatally wounded by police or his own gun.

Trooper Stephen Limani, a spokesman for the barracks in Greensburg, says police began chasing Senko after he bought a gun earlier Wednesday and was said by his mother to be distraught over a relationship and in need of mental health treatment.

The chase began Wednesday at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg campus — about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh — where Senko’s ex-girlfriend was a student. It ended after 8:30 p.m. when a trooper caused Senko’s car to spin out, prompting the gunfire.