Pittsburgh police evacuate homes near ongoing shooting scene after eviction attempt
(CNN) — A sheriff's deputy was injured during an ongoing, "extremely active" shooting situation in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Garfield, city officials said Wednesday.
"The active scene in Garfield began this morning when a detail from our office attempted to serve an eviction notice, which was followed by gunfire from the occupant of the residence," Allegheny County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Mike Manko said.
"One of our sergeants, who was leading the detail, sustained a minor non-gunfire related injury while avoiding the incoming gunfire. He is OK," Manko said.
Police are evacuating nearby residents and warned others to avoid the area.
"Officers are beginning to evacuate people from the houses in the 4800 block of Broad St." Pittsburgh Public Safety tweeted at 12:11 p.m. Wednesday.
"If you are inside, please shelter in place, dial 911, and identify your address, location. Officers will be entering to help guide you to safety."
About an hour earlier, police asked residents to "Avoid the 4800 block of Broad Street and N. Mathilda Street in the Garfield neighborhood due to an active shooting situation."
"This is an extremely active situation with shots continuing to be fired," Pittsburgh Public Safety said.
A neighbor who was at home across the street from the shooting scene told CNN affiliate WPXI that she now has bullet holes in her house.
Authorities banged on a door, she said, and "when they went in, I just heard him shoot out. And then it was a barrage of bullets."
"I … was trying to get down to the basement, but I was holed up in my work office because the bullets were so close," she told WPXI by phone. "After that, I just was able to make it, crawl down to the basement."
She said it's not clear how long she'll hide. "I'm just hunkering down in this basement in a corner because every time I move, there is just a barrage of bullets just keep firing," she said.
Authorities have not publicly identified the suspect, but there is only one, Manko said.
The FBI said it is assisting local authorities but deferred further comment to Pittsburgh police and the sheriff's office.
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