U.S. Marshal Killed in January was Hit by Friendly Fire

Christopher Hill, the U.S. Marshal who died in a police-involved shootout in Harrisburg, PA, in January, was killed as a result of friendly fire, according to Dauphin County officials.

“Deputy Marshal Hill died a hero,” Francis T. Chardo, District Attorney of Dauphin County said in a statement Thursday. “And the results of this investigation do not in any way diminish the heroism exhibited by the other members of the team that day.”

Hill was killed Jan. 18 while serving a warrant for an arrest in Harrisburg.

Around 6:30 a.m., Hill and other members of a task force served a warrant for Shayla Lynette Towles Pierce at a home in Harrisburg. During the arrest, Towles' boyfriend, Kevin Sturgis, yelled down from the second floor, “Are you looking for me?" officials said. 

Then, as he descended the stairs, Sturgis fired on task force members, Chardo said.

Sturgis’ first shot struck a task force member in the elbow. In response, another task force member returned fire towards Sturgis, the York Daily Record reports.

One of the bullets fired in self-defense passed through a wall and struck Hill.

Sturgis is responsible for both his own death and the death of Deputy United States Marshal Christopher Hill,” Chardo said. “Sturgis maliciously and unnecessarily set in motion the exchange of gunfire that led to both deaths.”