Police shoot, kill man wanted for slaying of trombone player

SOUTH STRABANE, Pa. – Pennsylvania authorities say a man wanted for gunning down a Florida trombone player as she left orchestra practice has been killed after he pulled a gun on officers trying to make a traffic stop.

State police say troopers tried to stop Steven Brooks late Thursday for erratic driving in South Strabane, about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh. They say the 45-year-old St. Petersburg, Florida, man drove off the wrong way down Interstate 70 before crashing into a bridge support column.

Brooks then fled on foot and scaled a fence before pulling out a gun. Authorities say he refused orders to drop the weapon and was shot.

A manhunt had been underway for Brooks since the February killing of Caroline Morton-Hicks.

Police in Madison County, Alabama, say Brooks took an elderly couple hostage during a standoff with police there Wednesday night, but managed to flee.