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6 Stabbed At Homestead Mental Health Facility, Suspect Shot

Virginia Alvino Young
/
90.5 WESA

A man is injured and in custody after taking several hostages and stabbing six people at Turtle Creek Valley Mental Health in Homestead on Friday afternoon.

Allegheny County Supervisor Coleman McDonough said 38-year-old Dustin Johnson walked into the facility and held multiple people in a fifth-floor staff office. 

Police and SWAT were dispatched around 3 p.m. when 9-1-1 calls reported multiple people had been stabbed, McDonough said.

Johnson walked in brandishing two large kitchen knives and a BB gun that he called a pistol, McDonough said. Officers shot Johnson once in the chest when he didn't drop his gun, he said. His wound is not considered life-threatening. 

Six hostages were stabbed and taken to hospitals. None of the injuries are considered critical or life-threatening. Officials said at least some of the victims were staff members. 

Staff member Cherrell Fulton said she was held hostage and recognized Johnson from the facility. Though McDonough did not confirm if Johnson was a former patient, he said multiple staff members recognized him. 

Nearby Barrett Elementary School was placed on lockdown for roughly 30 minutes, but reopened at 3:25 p.m., school secretary Karen Barabas said.