On July 31, 35-year-old Adam Michael Zaborowski, tired of the coronavirus pandemic, got into a wild shootout with Pennsylvania police on Saturday.
Bethlehem Township Police explained in a post to its official Facebook page how he went into a cigar store and he didn’t have a mask.
Zaborowski became angry when he was told to put a mask on. So, he took two cigars off a shelf and left the store without stopping to pay for them, according to the Facebook post.
Police said a store employee followed the shoplifter out of the store and into the parking lot and called for him to return the cigars.
Zaborowski then turned around and pulled out a semiautomatic pistol.
Police said the suspect fired one shot in the air and then two shots at the employee, but nobody was struck by gunfire.
Zaborowski fled in a blue Dodge pickup truck.
Police identified the gunman and said he was subsequently charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, robbery, reckless endangerment, and persons prohibited to possess a firearm.
-
The Importance of Prayer: How a Christian Gold Company Stands Out by Defending Americans’ Retirement
Slatington Borough police officer tried to stop him in Lehigh County, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania State Police.
As soon as Zaborowski stopped his truck, he jumped out and began firing his gun at seven law enforcement officers. he opened fire with an AK-47 and a semi-automatic handgun, Lehigh Valley Live reported.
He hit a Slatington Borough police vehicle.
The officer and the troopers returned fire and Zaborowski was shot.
They performed first aid on the suspect until EMS arrived, according to the press release.
Police said Zaborowski was transported to the airport by ambulance and then airlifted to St. Luke’s Fountain Hill.
None of the troopers were hurt during the incident, but a Slatington Borough police officer sustained a minor injury, according to the state police.
THE DEFENSE
An attorney for Zaborowski told Lehigh Valley Live that the gunman’s father said his son had recently lost his job and a custody battle for his kid, and “was just not handling the pandemic well.”
Okay, that explains it.
“He just wasn’t dealing well with the loss of his job, the loss of his child, just not handling the pandemic well,” defense attorney John Waldron said. “I think he was getting stretched too tight.”
Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin said Zaborowski put seven officers in harm’s way during the shootout regardless of the reasoning, Lehigh Valley Live reported.
“It doesn’t excuse his conduct,” Martin said.
The defense attorney admitted that his client was lucky to survive the gunfight with police.
Zaborowski was arraigned from his hospital bed.
Police said Zaborowski was charged with seven counts of attempted homicide, seven counts of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of possession of a gun despite a felony, Lehigh Valley Live reported.
Zaborowski can’t have a handgun after a prior aggravated assault conviction.
Waldron said it wasn’t the first time he had represented this particular client, Lehigh Valley Live reported.
“I know his dad. I know his mom. I know Adam,” the attorney said. “From what I hear with these allegations, this is not his typical behavior pattern.”
