Son Of US Ambassador, Paul Kattouf's Road Rage Cause Death

Paul Kattouf of Susquehanna Township was found shot dead in the 200 block of State Street (between Second and Third streets) around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, according to the releases by Harrisburg police and the Dauphin County Coroner's office.

"Officers in the area were also able to quickly stop and detain a person of interest," as stated in the police release.

Kattouf's autopsy was conducted on Tuesday, June 25. His cause of death was a Gunshot Wound to Chest and the manner was Homicide, the Dauphin County Coroner announced on Tuesday afternoon.

"No criminal charges will be filed in connection with the shooting death of Paul M. Kattouf," DA Chardo said on July 16.

The investigation showed that Kattouf yelled at a family — including a man, a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy who was driving the car, and a 7-year-old child in the backseat — heading to drop the man off to work, according to the DA's release.

The family was traveling along the "I-83 John Harris Memorial Bridge (the South Bridge). A detour at Forster Street required the family to divert to North 3rd Street until turning west on State Street to return to Front Street. Paul Kattouf took the same detour and traveled ahead of the family," as stated in the release

Kattouf pulled over to yell at them in the 200 block of State Street in front of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick and they pulled up behind him to give his license plate number to 911, who they were already on the phone with to report his road rage, according to the investigation.

The DA believes:

"Paul Kattouf likely surmised that the vehicle containing the family was following him."

But no reason was given for him to think that.

Kattouf came to the car with its open windows, yelling and pepper spraying; the pregnant driver "As she was being sprayed, the driver grabbed her pistol. Because of the pepper spray, she was unable to fire it. The male passenger took it from her hand and fired a single shot at Paul Kattouf, striking him in the right upper chest. The bullet passed through the heart and the right lung resulting in Mr. Kattouf’s death," the DA said, noting that "under the Pennsylvania statutes relating to the use of deadly force in self-protection and the protection of others, this defense applies."

Kattouf was a certified Behavior Technician working in social services helping children on the autism spectrum, according to public records.

He was one of the sons of former US Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and later Syria, Theodore “Ted” Kattouf, as detailed in his father's staff profile on the Foundation for Middle East Peace website. His mom, Heather, managed a hotel in Carlisle according to an interview with Central Penn Business Journal in 2009.

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