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Officers were called to Beech Street and North Mount Vernon Street at 5:06 p.m. for the crash, where they say 25-year-old Andrew Jackson Ecker struggled with police and tried to grab a .22 caliber firearm from his vehicle, according to District Attorney Kevin R. Steele.
Ecker fled on foot to his home on Winding Road, where he opened fire and struck Pottstown Police Officer Caleb Whitney in the shoulder, Steele said. Whitney was rushed to Reading Hospital and released later that evening with non-life-threatening injuries, officials confirmed.
Ecker barricaded himself inside his residence for more than five hours. SWAT teams and officers from multiple Montgomery County departments responded. Using the help of a relative, negotiators attempted to bring Ecker out peacefully, but he refused. He was fatally shot at around 10:45 p.m., Steele said.
The investigation is ongoing, as is protocol for officer-involved shootings in the county.
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