Pottstown man killed after shooting officer, waging hours-long standoff with police, DA says

A Pottstown man was killed by police late Sunday after waging an hours-long standoff with police, during which he shot an officer in the shoulder, officials said Monday.

Andrew Jackson Ecker, 25, was shot during the standoff at his home on Winding Road, according to a statement from Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. Ecker is the son of prominent local plumbing contractor and Pottstown Borough Authority official Aram Ecker.

Ecker crashed a vehicle belonging to his father’s business into another car near the corner of Beech and North Vernon Streets at about 5 p.m. Sunday, police said. When officers responded to the crash, they said they saw Ecker reach for a .22 caliber handgun inside the vehicle.

Aram Ecker did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

The younger Ecker fled on foot to his home, which was a few hundred yards away from the crash scene. Once there, police said, he barricaded himself inside his residence and fired at the officers chasing him, striking Pottstown Police Officer Caleb Whitney in his shoulder.

Whitney, who was hired by the department in 2023, was released from a nearby hospital after being treated for his wounds, officials said.

Meanwhile, police said, Ecker refused commands to leave his home, forcing officers to block off the surrounding streets. Other personnel from departments throughout Montgomery County responded, including the county SWAT team.

Hilary Lavender, who lives next door to Ecker, said Monday that she received calls and texts from her boyfriend about the chaos on their street while she worked a shift at a nearby Texas Roadhouse.

Earlier that day, she said, Ecker had come to the couple’s front door, asking for the $50 they owed him for an odd job he had completed at the home, and her boyfriend saw that Ecker had a gun tucked into his waistband.

Hesitant to let Ecker into the home with other people inside, including the couple’s 6-year-old son, Lavender said, her boyfriend closed the door and asked him to come back later.

At the time, she said, Ecker, who had struggled with addiction and bouts of depression, appeared to be intoxicated.

She said she and her boyfriend had an amicable relationship with Ecker, and that their son often had playdates with his children. The couple had been to his home for dinner, and she said he had confided in them about some of the issues he was struggling with.

“I feel bad for him, I can empathize,” said Lavender adding that she and her boyfriend are in recovery themselves. “And I know where addiction takes you. I’ve been to rock bottom before, and I know the thought processes you have when you panic.”

Later, she said, her boyfriend called Ecker to tell him he’d be happy to give him the money they owed him. While they were on the phone, she said, he overhead Ecker get into the car crash that set off the chain of events leading to his death.

During the standoff, she said, some of the officers commandeered her home, including a sniper who set up a position in her upstairs bedroom. Lavender, who was not at home at the time, was stuck for hours at the end of her block, listening with apprehension as gunfire and bangs from explosive devices used by the SWAT team rang out.

Just before 11 p.m., she said, Lavender was able to return to her home and console her terrified son.

At the time of the shooting, court records show, Ecker was on probation after he pleaded guilty in 2019 to illegally purchasing a gun with an obliterated serial number. He also has convictions for terroristic threats and assault.

The investigation into Ecker’s death is continuing, officials said.