Whitehall Resident Is Red Cross Hero

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in April when Allegheny County Sherriff's deputy and Whitehall Borough resident Sgt. Kevin Faulds drove through downtown Pittsburgh.

Sgt. Faulds, who was on his way to meet his wife and daughter that April 5, would soon find himself in the middle of a dangerous incident. After speaking to his family on the phone, Faulds heard two loud pops near Smithfield Street.

"I thought for a split-second it was construction," Faulds said, "but then I saw people running. And I knew that there were gunshots.

"I made a turn on Fifth Avenue, and you could just hear people screaming, 'They are shooting; they are shooting!'"

Faulds pinpointed the location of the threat through the dispersal of the crowd.

"There was a wave of people running up, away from Wood Street," he said. "It became obvious that the incident occurred at the intersection of Fifth Street and Wood Street."

Expecting a gun battle, Faulds called for reinforcement and quickly exited his vehicle. He identified three individuals who were involved in a physical entanglement, one of them visibly suffering from a gunshot wound.

"There was blood on his pants and blood on the ground," Faulds said. "I approached them from behind, and they were still fighting each other. I ordered them to get on the ground. Then, I wrestled him (armed individual) off of the group and placed him down on the ground. I positioned myself at that point between the gun and him."

The two other individuals continued to fight each other. As Faulds held one man in custody, he simultaneously held the other two at gunpoint, ordering them to also get onto the ground.

It was then that Faulds noticed one of the individuals reaching into his waistband.

"He was holding another firearm," Faulds said. "He shoved the gun on the ground and then pushed it away.

"After the second individual discarded the gun, I picked him up off of the ground and forced him to face down toward The Capital Grille. Then, I held all three at gunpoint until backup arrived."

That afternoon, during rush hour, Faulds estimates that nearly 2,000 people were in the crowd. His quick instinct and reaction potentially saved numerous lives of those downtown.

While Faulds doesn't consider himself a hero—he believes that he was responding to his call of duty—he is honored to be among six people from southwestern Pennsylvania who will be recognized at the American Red Cross' fifth annual Heroes Breakfast at CONSOL Energy Center this Thursday, Sept. 26.

Faulds is the Professional Responder Hero this year.

"It is nice to see that there is some recognition for what we do," Faulds said of law enforcement officers, "but I don't feel like a hero, no I don't.

"I am just doing my job."

This is the second straight year that someone from the Baldwin-Whitehall community has been selected as a Red Cross Hero, and both have been emergency personnel.

Alex Vogel of Baldwin Borough and Baldwin Independent Fire Company No. 1 earned the honor in 2012. Read more about Vogel here.

WPXI sportscaster Bill Phillips will serve as the emcee for Thursday's program. The heroes were nominated by community members and then voted on by an independent panel of media personnel.