Pennsylvania Officer Killed: Suspect Remains At Large

NEW KENSINGTON, PA — Authorities have identified the man wanted in the shooting death of 25-year-old New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw as Rahmael Sal Holt who remains on the loose as of Sunday morning.

A warrant has been issued for 29-year-old Holt's arrest and police say he should be considered to be armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on Holt's location is asked to call 911 and a reward of $43,500 is being offered for information that leads to the location and arrest of Holt.

Shaw was killed during a foot pursuit that happened after a traffic stop and he was shot in the chest sometime during the chase. An SUV that police were searching for in relation to the shooting was found abandoned not far from the shooting scene.

State police said Saturday that investigators know why the suspected shooter was pulled over but would not provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

Nicole Drum, whose family lives directly across from the shooting scene, told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that she was on a couch in her living room when she heard six or seven shots, including one that hit her house. She looked outside and saw Shaw fall. She was the first person to reach him.

"I was trying to talk to him," she said Saturday. "He wasn't responding."

Brad Larocca, who lives next door to the Drums, also heard the shots, which he said came rapidly. He said Shaw tried to sit up before collapsing.

"I don't know if he was trying to talk," said Laroccoa, who also tried to help the officer. "He was gasping for air."

Larocca said he didn't know if Shaw also fired his weapon.

"Whichever one was shooting knew how to use a gun. It was quick," Laroccoa said.

Drum said her home was hit twice — once under the front porch, and again on the second floor — but neither shot went inside the house. Her father, Wayne Drum, who was not home when the shooting occurred, said police recovered the bullet that hit the porch on Saturday morning. He was told it was a .40 caliber slug.

The Drum home has a surveillance camera mounted under the second-story eave. Wayne Drum said it had captured everything, but the video was fuzzy since it was taken at night. He said police took his hard drive, telling him they would be able to enhance it.

In a brief statement on Saturday, New Kensington Police Chief Jim Klein said that authorities will find, arrest and prosecute the individual responsible for the shooting. He described Shaw as a young, bright, energetic and caring officer that was loved by his family and by members of the police department.

Shaw had served as a part-time officer in three other towns before joining the New Kensington police force full time in June. According to The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Shaw was a 2010 graduate of Burrel High School and earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Slippery Rock University in 2015. He played football in college and was a soccer player in high school.

A wake for Shaw will be held Monday and Tuesday, followed by a funeral service Wednesday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: SWAT team members prepare to search the neighborhood where a police officer was fatally shot Friday, Nov. 17, 2017, in New Kensington, Pa. Authorities in Pennsylvania say a police officer was shot and killed while making a traffic stop and a search is underway for the gunman. (Rebecca Droke/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)