A 22-year-old college student killed by Pennsylvania police responding to a possible burglary had just realized he was at the wrong home and was waiting for friends to come get him when he was shot, his father said Wednesday.
Police in Upper Pottsgrove Township, northwest of Philadelphia, responded around 12:30 a.m. Sunday to a 911 call about a possible break-in attempt, according to the Montgomery County district attorney's office. The office said in a statement that police found Glenwood Pysher IV at the rear of the home and ultimately shot and killed him.
Pysher's father, Glen Pysher, said his son and his friends had visited several bars earlier in the evening and were splitting up to spend the night in two homes when his son took a wrong turn in the woods. Based on what he has been told by his son's friends, Pysher believes his son mistakenly tried to enter what he thought was his friend's house. His son wasn't carrying any weapons, just a phone and backpack containing clothing and a few beers, he said.
“He tried to open the doorknob and obviously startled the homeowner,” he said. “From what we understand, he announced, ‘Hey! Open the door!’ because he thought he was at his friend's house.”
Pysher then sat down on the back porch and contacted his friends, who realized he was in the wrong place and set out to find him. But minutes later, they saw police and emergency vehicles and figured their friend would be arrested for public drunkenness. Instead, he was shot.
“At 12:32 a.m. my son was on a FaceTime call with his friends that were coming to get him,” he said. “We were told that my son was shot at 12:35 a.m. So what kind of encounter could have ensued? What kind of communication could that officer have given him?”
A Montgomery County Department of Public Safety dispatch record shows police were dispatched at 12:30 a.m. and arrived at 12:34 a.m. Upper Pottsgrove Township Police Chief Al Werner declined to release any information, including the names of any officers involved, until the investigation is complete. The Montgomery County Detective Bureau is investigating the shooting, the district attorney’s office said.
The shooting by police checking a report of a possible break-in is sharply distinguished from several other cases in which residents have shot people who mistakenly showed up at their homes.
Pysher was about to begin his senior year at Saint Elizabeth University in New Jersey, where he planned to play baseball. His goal was to become a high school history teacher and coach after graduation.
His father described him as a kindhearted, loving kid who could be a “knucklehead” but enjoyed helping others. Since the shooting, former teammates, coaches and others have been texting his father to share their memories of him.
“One young man in particular texted me and said, ‘I was going through a lot of really difficult things in my life. I was going the wrong way. And your son is the one who helped me put my life on track,’" the father said. “He will be sadly missed in his community.”
Pysher said police have given the family almost no information. On Wednesday, he called asking whether he could retrieve his son's favorite pair of black shoes to bury him in and was told that could be arranged.
“Then I got a call back saying they have to think about it,” he said. “They don't know if they can give them to me.”
