UPDATE: Multiple People Shot in Oakland at Western Psych; Two Dead

Several people were shot on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh's Oakland area after a gunman went into the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC.

Police were dispatched to the scene at around 2 p.m.

In a press conference at 6 p.m., Mayor Luke Ravenstahl confirmed that two people are dead and that seven people were rushed to UPMC Presbyterian's emergency room.

Ravenstahl said that one of the deceased men—30-year-old John Shick, of Oakland, according to the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette—is the shooter. The other deceased man is Michael Schaab, 25, of , the Post-Gazette said.

Pittsburgh police believe that Shick entered the building with two semiautomatic handguns, he said.

"It's still an active scene," Ravenstahl said. "Our crews are methodically going through the building to make sure every floor and every room is clear."

Dr. Don Yealy, the chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, also addressed the media.

"Two of the seven patients were evaluated and released," Yealy said. "The remaining patients will be admitted and will require operations within the next 12 to 24 hours.

"I believe all to survive and do well."

The ages, genders and conditions of those patients treated at UPMC Presbyterian are as follows:

• 46-year-old male, gunshot wound,  fair condition
• 64-year-old female, gunshot wound, serious condition
• 54-year-old female, gunshot wound, fair condition
• 35-year-old male, gunshot wound, fair condition
• 49-year-old male, gunshot wound, serious condition.

Yealy credited trauma physicians, social workers and nurses for acting promptly in such a narrow time interval. Ravenstahl commended Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh police and the city's Public Safety Department for their heroism and for acting so swiftly. He also expressed appreciation to Western Psych employees for assisting law enforcement.

Claudia Roth, the president of Western Psych, said that a number of Western Psych staff members wanted to stay at work to help this afternoon. Roth said that exceptional care for the organization's 289 patients will continue and that the staff plans to do a thorough review of safety in the building.

"Safety and security is of our utmost concern," she said.

School is not in session at the nearby University of Pittsburgh, as Pitt students are on spring break.

A hotline has been established by Pittsburgh police for those worried about patients, relatives, belongings, et al., at Western Psych. The number to call is 412-623-7724.

Do you work in Oakland? Leave your observations, comments or concerns in the comments section below.

This article originally appeared on the .

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