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March 22, 2012

1 Pitt police officer remains off work following WPIC shootings

Police prepare to lead WPIC staff and others from the building after the March 8 shooting that left two dead and seven injured.

Police prepare to lead WPIC staff and others from the building after the March 8 shooting that left two dead and seven injured.

An injured Pitt police officer remains off duty following a March 8 shooting at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic that left the gunman and a WPIC staffer dead and seven injured.

WPIC therapist Michael Schaab, 25, was killed by gunman John F. Shick, 30. Pitt police killed Shick, who was armed with two weapons and multiple rounds of ammunition.

Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney said 32 Pitt police officers were among police responding to the call. Fifteen entered the WPIC building and others assisted with evacuating the building, traffic control and other duties.

The University has not released the names of the officers involved.

The call to assist Pittsburgh police with an active shooter came at 1:46 p.m. Delaney said that because the Pitt police shifts change between 2 and 3 p.m., the daylight shift was on duty when the call came in, but afternoon shift officers were arriving, making extra officers available to respond.

The Pitt police officer, who initially was reported to have been shot, instead was hospitalized after he slipped and injured his knee and ankle. Although he is out of the hospital, his leg injury physically is preventing him from working, Delaney said.

Another Pitt officer was uninjured after a bullet ricocheted into his vest and service belt, Delaney told the University Times.

Delaney said Pitt’s employee assistance program provider, LifeSolutions, counseled police following the incident.

In a March 10 update on the incident, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg commended the courage, skill and professionalism of the Pitt police, as well as their cooperative relationship with other law enforcement agencies.

“It now seems clear that the swift and effective actions of the Pitt police officers who intervened eliminated the likelihood that the list of casualties might have risen to a dramatically higher level. We all are in their debt,” he stated. His update is posted at www.chancellor.pitt.edu.

—Kimberly K. Barlow


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