Three Pittsburgh police officers killed by gun-loving maniac; afraid Obama would limit gun rights

A gun-loving lunatic who was afraid President Obama would ban firearms killed three Pittsburgh cops Saturday in a blizzard of bullets, police and witnesses said.

"I am going to die today," the killer, who was not identified, told a friend just before the incident.

The gunman was arrested after a standoff that lasted several hours, officials said.

At least five officers were wounded. It was not immediately clear if that number included the three officers who died. Their names were not released.

Edward Perkovic, 22, the suspect's best friend, said the shooter called him at work as the carnage unfolded.

"Eddie, I am going to die today.... Tell your family I love them and I love you," the killer said, according to Perkovic.

"I heard gunshots and he hung up," Perkovic added. "He sounded like he was in pain, like he got shot."

Perkovic said the gunman feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon."

Another friend, Joe DiMarco, said the suspect was upset about getting laid off from his job at a glass factory earlier this year.

Another longtime friend, Aaron Vire, 23, said his friend had an AK-47 rifle and several powerful handguns, including a .357 Magnum. He also said the gunman once had an Internet talk show.

Tom Moffitt, 51, a city firefighter who rushed to the scene from his home two blocks away said he heard "hundreds, just hundreds of shots. And not just once - several times."

Neighbor Rob Gift, 45, who heard bursts of gunfire as he was letting his dog out, was stunned by the violence.

"It's just a very quiet neighborhood," said Gift, who said many police officers, firefighters and other city workers live in the tidy neighborhood filled with single-family homes.

The shootings happened just two weeks after four cops killed in Oakland, Calif., March 21., the deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001.