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William Bill Hardison has been identified as Pittsburgh active shooter.
William Hardison, who is 63 years old, opened fire at sheriff’s officials who attempted to serve an eviction notice at his property in the Garfield neighborhood area in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania, on Wednesday.
The incident unfolded after sheriff deputies arrived at Hardison’s home in their attempt to evict him after previously refusing to leave and declining to pay rent for the past five months, according to local ABC affiliate WTAE.
Hardison has been charged with firearms violations in the past an has spent time in jail as well as some minor drug charges.
Hardison’s family owns the home and he has not been paying taxes on the property.
According to court documents, there have been at least nine hearings concerning the property.
William Bill Hardison sister, Marlene Jones reacts
Family member Marlene Jones revealed that his brother had left the home to Hardison, but that his mental health had been deteriorating for a year.
‘He just got worse and worse,’ she explained.
‘If they’d just let me or his girlfriend Karen go down there.
‘She is preparing for the worst, she said “I think they’re going to kill him”.
‘Whatever was in his mind told him he didn’t have to pay rent.
‘He was a jokester he was like a teddy bear, he would make you laugh.
‘You would be afraid of him but he was a teddy bear.
Another family member said they had no idea what was going on but would have offered him a room if he needed a place to stay.
But neighbours described him as violent and said he boarded up the home’s windows with large ‘do not disturb’ signs, WPXI reported.
After the brother’s death the property went to a tax sale, and now has a new owner, but the squatter has still refused to vacate.
One police source said the gunman identifies as a ‘sovereign citizen’, an anti-government extremist, WPXI reported.
