Friday, March 9, 2012

Two Reported Dead in Shooting at Leading Psychiatric Hospital

A gunman opened fire yesterday in the lobby of the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

   The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today that one victim of the shooting has been pronounced dead and seven others have been wounded. The shooter himself, whose identity was not known as of this morning, was also killed after trading fire with University of Pittsburgh police.
   Armed with two semiautomatic handguns, the shooter entered WPIC shortly before 2 p.m. yesterday and started firing. The Post-Gazette reports that officials believe the shooter had never been a patient at WPIC, and that detectives were working to learn more about his identity, background, and motivations.
   To read about the association between violence and mental illness see Psychiatric News here and here.

(Image: GWImages/shutterstock.com)

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