Police respond to ‘active shooter’ in Pittsburgh as ‘hundreds of rounds’ fired in Garfield neighbourhood
Officers were reportedly serving an eviction notice at a home and ‘the suspect turned violent and started shooting’
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An active shooter fired “hundreds of rounds” in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning, as police tell locals to steer clear of the area, and shots are still being fired hours later, local reports say.
More than five hours after the shooting was first reported, Pittsburgh Public Safety tweeted at 4.14pm that the scene remains “active and ongoing.”
A spokesperson for Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office told CNN that there is only one suspect—who has barricaded himself inside the residence—although the individual has not been publicly identified. FBI Pittsburgh confirmed it was assisting Pittsburgh Police.
Police are starting to evacuate people from the houses in the 4800 block of Broad Street, as Pittsburgh Public Safety wrote on X: “If you are inside, please shelter in place, dial 911, and identify your address, location.”
Officials previously warned the public: “Avoid the 4800 block of Broad Street and N. Mathilda Street in the Garfield neighborhood due to an active shooting situation.”
Twenty minutes later, Pittsburgh Public Safety urged again: “This is an extremely active situation with shots continuing to be fired. Please avoid the area at this time.”
“Hundreds of rounds still going off,” a reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Megan Guza, tweeted. She added, “A neighbor said he heard hundreds of rounds when the shooting started and there have been hundreds of rounds since. Said he immediately hit the ground in his living room.”
Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told The Independent that “our office went to the address to serve an eviction notice and that is when the actor turned violent and began shooting, adding that the scene is still active. He added, “One of our Sergeants who was leading the detail sustained a minor non-gunfire related injury while avoiding the incoming gunfire. He is ok.”
According to CBS News, an attorney said the home involved was bought at a sheriff’s sale and deputies were going to remove a man who was ‘basically squatting,’ knowing it could turn violent.”
A neighbor told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “I’ve never heard bullets like this,” adding the incident was “something you’d see in a movie.”
A reporter at WTAE tweeted that she heard “several shots fired at Dearborn Street and N. Millvale Ave,” which is two blocks away from the original location listed by police.
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, located near the shooting, tweeted that “Pittsburgh Police are responding to a shooting incident approximately ½ mile from UPMC Children’s Hospital. The individual is accounted for and there is no direct threat to patients, staff, or visitors. Enhanced security is now present on campus and will continue through the day.”
“The City of Pittsburgh Police still has control of the active shooter scene until the incident is resolved. At its conclusion, the @PAStatePolice will assume the investigation,” according to a tweet at 1.42pm--two and a half hours after the shooting began.
The White House said that “The President has also been briefed on reports of the active shooter situation in Pittsburgh.”
Guza reported at 3.45pm that she was hearing flash bangs.