Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | By Paula Reed Ward
'Everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs "Drop the gun." 'After a 5-mile police pursuit ended with the suspect's car and the patrol vehicle chasing it down over an embankment and in a field in South Strabane, the suspect reached down and picked something up.
"I immediately started screaming, 'He has a gun. He has a gun,' " testified North Franklin police Sgt. Jerry Cavanaugh Friday at a Washington County coroner's inquest.
Then, the officer continued, he saw Kelly Duane Smith reach into his pocket, take out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Then the 42-year-old from Canonsburg started loading his revolver.
"There was an eerie calm in his manner," Sgt. Cavanaugh said. "He loaded the cylinder with great precision."
Once it was loaded, Mr. Smith picked the gun up, aimed it under his own chin and took a deep breath. Then he put the gun back down.
"Everyone was screaming at the top of their lungs, 'Drop the gun.' "
But Mr. Smith didn't. Officers at the scene say instead he raised the gun and pointed it directly at Washington police Officer Josh Rush, who initiated the chase.
At that, two officers on the scene began to fire. Bullets struck Mr. Smith four times -- three in the chest and once in the hand.
He died at the scene.
According to the evidence, Mr. Smith fired his weapon once, but no one is sure who shot first.
