Suspect dead after shooting police officer in Pottstown, District Attorney's Office says

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A suspect is dead after allegedly shooting a Pottstown police officer, then barricading himself inside his home for several hours on Sunday night.

The incident began around 5 p.m. when officers responded to a vehicle crash at Beech and North Mount Vernon streets.

The driver, 25-year-old Andrew Jackson Ecker, fled on foot after responding officers found a .22 caliber gun, the D.A.'s office said.

Ecker ran to the home he shares with his parents on Winding Road, and investigators say that's when he opened fire at police, shooting one of them in the shoulder.

Cell phone video recorded by a neighbor shows the suspect run behind a house, then several gunshots can be heard.

Ecker then barricaded himself inside the home as members of the Montgomery County SWAT team and officers from multiple departments responded.

One of Ecker's relatives helped a SWAT negotiator establish contact with him, the D.A.'s office said, but Ecker refused to leave his house.

Ecker was fatally shot by police around 10:45 p.m., the D.A.'s office confirms.

The wounded officer, identified as Ofc. Caleb Whitney, was treated and released from Reading Hospital.

Many people in the neighborhood knew the suspect, known as A.J., and his father, who runs a plumbing company in Pottstown.

"He'd come any time of the day, and the son, I didn't know him as well, but the son had been to my house three or four times doing plumbing work," said Lou Chillot. "Great kid, but he had problems, I assume."

Eckert had a criminal history that included assault, making terroristic threats and selling illegal guns.

"I feel bad for the family, that they're going through this," Chillot said.

The shooting is being investigated by Montgomery County detectives.