PITTSBURGH -- The man accused of fatally shooting three Pittsburgh police officers and injuring two others was alternately described by friends as "an easygoing, fun-loving guy" and a known gun enthusiast who was prepared to die after he woke up on a bright spring Saturday morning.
Richard "Pop" Poplawski was moved Sunday night around 10:30 p.m. from UPMC Presbyterian to the Allegheny County Jail, where he will remain held without bond pending a preliminary hearing.
Between volleys of gunfire at his Stanton Heights home, Poplawski, 22, was apparently calling friends and family.
"He just told my nephew, Billy, that he was shot twice -- one in the arm, once in the leg," aunt Marianne Klimczyk told WTAE Channel 4's Bob Mayo. "He just told him to tell everybody that 'I love them' because he didn't think that he was going to get out of there alive."
Childhood friend Edward Perkovic said he spoke to Poplawski via telephone at about 8:30 a.m.
"What he said to me today was, 'Eddie, I'm going to die today. Tell your family I love them and I love you.' And I heard gunshots and he hung up the phone," Perkovic said. "This was a complete surprise to me and my family and everyone's families that were friends with him. Nobody ever expected something like this from him."
Perkovic said Poplawski feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon."
"He wasn't involved in any gangs, any militias. He believed in his right to bear arms. He believed that hard economic times were going to put forward gun bans," Perkovic said.
Suspect Owned Several Guns, Supply Of Ammunition
Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper said Poplawski was armed with a high-powered assault rifle and a pistol, and he had a significant amount of ammunition as he allegedly fired out of his bedroom window on Fairfield Street.
According to the police criminal complaint obtained by WTAE Channel 4 Action News on Sunday, Poplawski's mother said her son has been "stockpiling guns and ammunition, buying and selling the weapons online because he believed that as a result of economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society."
Poplawski's mother said her son enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps a few years ago but was discharged for assaulting a drill sergeant in basic training. Since his discharge, Poplawski's mother said her son had been stockpiling weapons, according to the criminal complaint.
"He wasn't fully a Marine. He got a dishonorable discharge out of boot camp," Perkovic said. "He wanted to get out of the Marine Corps."
Poplawski's mother also said her son has been "stockpiling guns and ammunition, buying and selling the weapons online because he believed that as a result of economic collapse, the police were no longer able to protect society."
According to the criminal complaint, Poplawski's mother said her son "only liked police when they were not curtailing his constitutional rights, which he was determined to protect."
"He has a few weapons. I know he has a machine gun, I know he has a couple rifles and I know he has a couple handguns…They're recreational, and for deer hunting and for everything. I mean, he's not a bad kid," Klimczyk said.
A posting on what was believed to be Poplawski's MySpace Web page said, "I spread my secrets out. Everybody knows something, but nobody knows everything. Some could call me crazy. My answer would be that at least I insist to exist."
The page, which was removed by MySpace in the afternoon, included a photo of Poplawski and a description in which he called himself reasonably intelligent and well-spoken, with a wild life ahead, saying that the world is his oyster.
Team 4 Uncovers Documents Illustrating Poplawski's Past
WTAE Channel 4 found court documents indicating a protection from abuse order and disorderly conduct, but no major criminal violations in Poplawski's history.
"He was just an easygoing, fun-loving guy, telling jokes," Jeff Loffler said. "Everybody knew him. He was just the kind of guy who you could have a conversation with even if you didn't know him."
One neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said, "He personally threatened my stepdaughter, and chased her through the neighborhood."
“This kid's nothing but trouble,” the neighbor said.
Poplawski is charged with three counts of criminal homicide -- relating to the shootings of officers Eric Kelly, Paul Sciullo II and Stephen Mayhle -- and a count of aggravated assault against Officer Timothy McManaway, who suffered a hand wound.
"I apologize to the families and the police officers that are there to serve and protect us, that they lost their lives, but I don't want the stories about my nephew to be told the wrong way," Klimczyk said.
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