Police chief shot, suspect charged with attempted homicide
By KYW Staff
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YARDLEY, Pennsylvania (KYW) — A suspect has been arrested and charged for allegedly shooting the Yardley police chief. The suspect was identified as 24-year-old Colin Frank Petroziello.
Police say Petroziello fired a shotgun through the front door of his apartment on Wednesday, injuring the hand and ear of Chief Joseph Kelly.
Petroziello was charged with attempted homicide of an officer, two counts of attempted murder, six counts of aggravated assault, and one count for each law enforcement officer, persons not to possess a firearm, false imprisonment, recklessly endangering another person and possession of an instrument crime.
It happened at the Yardley Commons complex on South Main Street.
The chief, who is expected to be OK and had hand surgery Thursday, had arrived on the scene to help a probation officer who was checking on Petroziello.
“I remember getting the call this morning, and the chills immediately ran up my spine,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in a release. “The luckiest person today is Chief Joseph Kelly, next are his family and then it’s a tie: It’s all of us that the police selflessly serve and protect without regard for their own public safety, every damn day. And they do it without a thought of what could happen to them at any given moment. This is but one horrible and awesome example all rolled into one because Police Chief Joseph Kelly knew of the risks, but he took them anyway when he assisted a fellow officer on a check the well-being call this morning.”
“I heard somebody yell ‘take cover,’” neighbor Jessica Less said.
Neighbors showed Eyewitness News the home’s door that’s now boarded up after the incident.
“It was heartbreaking to watch was happening,” Less said. “I just wonder if there was a way to deescalate this before the police needed to even come and put themselves in that kind of danger.”
“I feel bad for the family,” Sunraja Howell said.
Bucks County probation officer Cristina Viviano arrived at the apartment on Wednesday to conduct an offender check on Petroziello at 11 a.m., but when she heard arguing coming from inside the home she called for assistance reporting a domestic disturbance. Kelly arrived shortly after.
As Kelly and Viviano approached the door of the apartment they knocked and identified themselves, Petroziello reportedly shot a shotgun through the front door. Kelly was hit in the hand and the ear from the shot. Viviano was not injured in the shooting.
After the shooting, Petroziello barricaded himself inside the apartment with his mother inside.
About an hour after the shooting, Petroziello’s mother, who had her cellphone, told police that he fell asleep. She then grabbed the Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun, tossed it out the window and escaped.
Following her exit, Petroziello was taken into custody after the South Central Bucks County Emergency Response Team made a forced entry into his home.
The standoff lasted four hours and he was taken into custody at 3:30 p.m.
Police recovered a loaded .45-caliber handgun tucked in his waistband and a second loaded magazine was found in his pants pocket. Police also found brass knuckles in the home, which are illegal.
A background check on Petroziello revealed that he was twice committed on involuntary mental health commitments, which makes him ineligible to possess a firearm in Pennsylvania.
Petroziello is being held without bail at the Bucks County Correctional Facility.
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