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On Wednesday, an active shooter situation unfolded in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neghborhood.
Deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 4800 block of Broad Street and North Mathilda Street to carry out an eviction, at which point the perpetrator initiated gunfire directed at the officers.
The situation escalated to a shootout with hundreds of rounds reportedly exchanged during the gunfire.
Pittsburgh’s SWAT team has assumed control of the situation, with no information currently available regarding any injuries.
KDKA reported:
Police are evacuating residents near an “active shooting situation” in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood.
According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, the shooting is unfolding in the 4800 block of Broad Street and North Mathilda Street.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect turned violent and started shooting when deputies went to the address to serve an eviction notice.
Pittsburgh Police SWAT is now taking over the scene and the investigation. Sources said the suspect shot down two police drones.
The public is asked to avoid this area as it is being described as an “extremely active situation with shots continuing to be fired.”
SWAT vehicles positioned themselves in front of the residence, establishing a barricade before confronting and engaging the suspect.
Amid the “extremely active situation”, officials reportedly attempted to evacuate the entire neighborhood.
Watch:
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported:
Neighbor Leslie Thompson told Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV she heard officers arrive at her neighbor’s house and try to make entry.
“I went to shut my windows and at that point was when I heard shots ring out,” she said. “I was very nervous. … Trying to get to the basement was unbearable. Shots were ringing out everywhere.”
She said shots came through the window and into her living room and bathroom.
A neighbor who did not want to be named said he heard more than a hundred shots during the incident.
“I’ve never heard bullets like this,” he said. “Something you’d see in a movie.”
Numerous roads in the area were closed while authorities arrived to the scene, and shots were continuing to be fired.
Officers were working to evacuate people from homes in the block. Police asked anyone in the homes to continue sheltering in place, call 911 and identify their address and location to be safely removed.
“In the beginning, all we heard was the cops,” Chris Wilkinson, who is visiting family in the area, told KDKA-TV. “They were banging on the door where the shooting takes place. They were banging on it telling him they were there. And after a couple of minutes of them doing it, they started to kick down the door, but after a few tries they couldn’t do it. Then, they got a sledgehammer and took down the door, and after that shots started to be fired.”
