Two Killed, Seven Injured in Shooting at Western Psych Institute in Pittsburgh

Two people were killed and seven injured Wednesday afternoon during a shooting at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC.

One of the dead is believed to be the person who began shooting inside Western Psych about 1:40 p.m., said Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl at a 6 p.m. news conference.

No names were released.

"This is a sad day, a tragic day, a senseless day," said Ravenstahl.

He noted that University of Pittsburgh police were in the building within minutes.

“Their quick response saved lives today,” Ravenstahl said. One officer was grazed with a bullet, but is doing well, the mayor said.

Few details about the gunman were released. Ravenstahl said the gunman entered the facility through the front door with two semi-automatic handguns.

The seven who were injured are expected "to survive and do well," said Dr. Don Yealy, chief of emergency medicine at UPMC.

They were taken to UPMC Presbyterian across the street from Western Psych.

One of the injured was taken to surgery, four others will require surgery, and two were evaluated and released, according to Yealy.

Five of the injured are Western Psych employees, according to Claudia Roth, president of the facility.

She said Western Psych has 289 patients and about 2,000 clinical staff members.

A notice on Western Psych's webpage encourages readers to follow news on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/upmcnews