Tredyffrin Township police detail encounter with armed man hours before random killing
TREDYFFRIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WPVI) -- New court records are shedding light on the hours leading up to a fatal shooting Saturday in Tredyffrin Township, including a police encounter with the suspect about two hours before the killing.
According to a criminal complaint, 44-year-old Steve Jahn called 911 around 8:30 p.m., telling police he believed he was being followed by multiple people and that he had a loaded gun, which he was legally permitted to carry. Investigators say Jahn appeared to be experiencing a mental health episode.
Tredyffrin Township police officers met Jahn in a PNC Bank parking lot in Paoli. The complaint states, "Jahn presented with frantic behavior and stated that he believed that people were going after him and following him around."
READ MORE | Woman shot in Tredyffrin Twp. was killed in 'random act of violence': DA
Officers believed Jahn was having a mental health crisis and suggested he voluntarily commit himself for a mental health evaluation, which would have required him to surrender his firearm. Police say Jahn initially agreed.
However, after officers escorted him to Paoli Hospital, investigators say Jahn changed his mind. According to the complaint, "...he stated that the cars in the hospital parking lot were the ones chasing him and refused to go to the hospital. Jahn was permitted to leave the scene."
Around 10:30 p.m., police say Jahn shot and killed a woman near Contention Lane and Old State Road, just a few miles from the earlier police encounter. Authorities have described the killing as random.
Legal experts say Pennsylvania law provides limited options for officers to seize firearms in situations that are not criminal in nature.
Sherief Ibrahim, a former police officer and current Temple University professor with a law degree, said the encounter began as a civil matter, not a criminal one.
"There generally is no way to just take a firearm, and rightfully so," Ibrahim said. "We don't want police to just be going around taking firearms at their discretion for no reason."
Stephen Morse, a professor of law and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, said officers had to make a difficult judgment call based on the information available at the time.
"At the time, he was not making, apparently not making a direct threat to anyone, he was suffering from delusional beliefs, and had a gun he was legally allowed to have," Morse said.
Morse added that police officers routinely encounter individuals experiencing paranoia or delusions.
"Officers are used to seeing people with paranoid delusions, this is not uncommon, and they made the judgment call they did. And tragic as it was, I would hate to judge them ill," he said.
Authorities have not commented publicly on whether any different action could have been taken before the shooting. The Chester County District Attorney's Office said it could not comment when asked about the newly revealed details.
Police have also obtained a dash camera from Jahn's vehicle. Investigators say the video shows him driving with a gun in his lap.
The case remains under investigation.
