A 22-year-old college student was fatally shot by a police officer after he allegedly knocked on the door of the wrong house in Pennsylvania following a night of drinking with his friends.
The Montgomery District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release that the fatal incident took place in Upper Pottsgrove Township on Sunday, August 23, around 12:30 a.m.
Officers with the Upper Pottsgrove Township Police Department responded to the residence after they received a 911 call regarding a “possible attempted break-in at a residence on Snyder Road.” Upon their arrival, officers found a man “in the rear of the residence.”
“An encounter ensued and police fired at the male subject, fatally striking the subject,” the Montgomery District Attorney’s Office said in the statement.
Despite confirming the news of his death, the DA’s officer did not reveal what led up to the fatal shooting.
The Montgomery County Detective Bureau then responded to the scene and launched an investigation, which is part of the protocol for officer-involved shootings, according to the DA’s statement.
The victim has since been identified as Glenwood “Bubba” Pysher.
Pysher’s mother, Erin Pysher, told WPVI that her son was shot after he went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday at a local bar. The group decided to continue the celebration at a friend’s house, and her son walked over to the home.
“He ended up at the wrong house after having a few drinks. He didn’t know that, so he was knocking on the door saying, ‘Hey, let me in.’ Thinking it was his friend’s house, but it wasn’t,” Erin explained.
She added that her son’s death seemingly happened quickly. “12:32, he was on the phone with his friends. By 12:35, I believe he’s already shot,” she said. “So, within a few minutes, the cop pulled up and shot him. He was unarmed. He had a cell phone and a book bag.”
“It’s a small little error that cost him his life. It should’ve never happened,” she said in another interview with NBC Philadelphia. “The cops should have never resorted to such force. He was unarmed. He wasn’t trying to do anything dangerous or malicious or hurt anybody. It escalated way too fast.”
Erin added that her son had just celebrated his birthday on August 10. “He was supposed to start school and go to college,” she said. “He was supposed to play baseball and live his life and it was cut short.”
The Pysher family set up a GodFundMe to help pay for Glenwood’s funeral, which has already raised more than $30,000 of its $40,000 goal as of time of publication.
The Upper Pottsgrove Township did not immediately respond to Us’ request for comment regarding the case.
