Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire died protecting his community.
Fellow Advocate,
Justin McIntire fits the very definition of “hometown hero.” He grew up in the small town of Brackenridge, PA, in the Allegheny Valley outside Pittsburgh. He spent twenty years building a career in law enforcement, eventually reaching his dream position of Brackenridge Police Chief. But that was all taken away, suddenly and cruelly, on January 2, 2023, by a shooter who had access to a deadly device that turns a handgun into a machine gun. That device isn’t banned under state law. Now, his family is speaking out.
On that icy, fateful day, Chief McIntire answered the call to respond to an armed fugitive in his own neighborhood. His mother, Lori, recalls being told: “Mrs. McIntire, get in the house – there’s an active shooter.”
Her hero son ran toward the fugitive, and was murdered. Later that day, the suspect was killed in a shootout with police, where he was firing a gun that was modified with a “switch” – a small device that converts a Glock handgun into a fully automatic machine gun, capable of firing up to 1,200 rounds per minute. These deadly devices are banned federally, but not in PA, meaning local law enforcement cannot prosecute their possession.
Much more conservative states like Indiana, Mississippi, and Louisiana have banned Glock switches at the state level.1Pennsylvania should be the next state to pass a ban, and prove we value our citizens, and our law enforcement personnel, more than the gun lobby.
