MEDIA RELEASE – Shooting Incidents

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Released by Lt. Rebekah Lynch

On March 6, 2023, at approximately 11:58 p.m., officers with the Pittsburg Police Department were called to the 100 block of West 23^rd St. in reference to a suspect identified as, 39-year-old Aaron Matthew Swink, of Pittsburg, shooting the windows out of a vehicle at that location.  Swink fled the area prior to officers arriving.  Officers collected statements and evidence from the scene and began actively looking for Swink.

On March 7, 2023 between 1:00 a.m. and 1:15 a.m., two separate calls came into our communications center of several gunshots in rapid succession.  One of the calls described the shots in the area around the 900–1100 blocks of West 4^th Street.  Officers were unable to identify the source or exact location of the shots at the time of the initial calls.

Soon after, at approximately 1:30 a.m., law enforcement officers and deputies from the Pittsburg Police Department and Crawford County Sheriff’s Office located Swink in the Garden of Memories Cemetery, located at 149 S. US 69 Hwy.  Swink engaged in gunfire with Officers and Deputies where rounds were exchanged, but no injuries reported.  There was a resulting standoff at the cemetery with Swink that lasted for approximately four hours.

At approximately 5:40 a.m., the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and the Pittsburg Police Department became involved in a vehicle pursuit with Swink, which began from the Garden of Memories Cemetery and continued through Pittsburg, ending just south of Pittsburg city limits, when Swink’s vehicle was disabled by law enforcement and he fled the vehicle on foot.  At that time a large-scale hunt for Swink ensued.

On March 7, 2023, just after 8:00 a.m., employees of the Probation and Parole Office, located at 1008 W. 4^th Street, reported arriving to work and finding several bullet holes through the front glass of the building.  Police responded to this location and collected evidence.  Investigation into this incident revealed that Aaron Swink is currently on parole and supervised through the Pittsburg office.  He is the prime suspect in this incident.

Investigation into all of the incidents, which occurred inside the city limits of Pittsburg, are still under investigation.  Our department assisted the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office in the apprehension of Aaron Swink on March 7, 2023 at approximately 6:30 p.m., just southwest of the Pittsburg city limits.

Anyone having information related to this incident, or other incidents, is urged to contact the Pittsburg Police Department at 620-231-1700, or at our tip line, 620-231-TIPS (8477). Callers may remain anonymous.

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