By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
An ATF agent was shot and hospitalized early Tuesday during a raid in a Pittsburgh neighborhood following a wiretap investigation into drug dealing.
A dozen suspects connected to the house have been arrested, TribLive reports.
Medics treated the agent at the scene before he was taken to a hospital in stable condition, John Schmidt, acting special agent in charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division, said.
“We train for these types of situations and that training paid off today,” Schmidt said. “In our efforts to conduct operations as safely as possible, we have medics on our Special Response Teams for instances just like today — our highly trained medics were able to quickly provide medical care to our special agent and helped insure the best outcome possible in this instance.”
The homeowner, Dion Williams, 44 was charged with possession and conspiracy to distribute at last 5 kilograms of cocaine since November. The 11 others who were arrested were charged and face between 10 years and life in prison.
The investigation is connected to a larger drug-trafficking probe involving the “11 Hunnit” street gang, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said.
“For too long, the ’11 Hunnit’ gang has terrorized the law-abiding residents of the City of Pittsburgh and the Hill District,” Brady said. “Through the four indictments of 22 members and associates of ’11 Hunnit,’ we have effectively dismantled this gang and its grip on our city.”
