Pittsburgh Hospital Shooting Victim Was Second Gun Death in His Family Since 2010
Michael Schaab was killed when a gunman opened fire at Western Psychiatric.
March 9, 2012— -- The victim of the Pittsburgh hospital shooting was identified as employee Michael Schaab, a 25-year-old who lost his sister to gun violence in 2010.
"They're going through what no family should ever have to go through," Tom Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for the Schaab family, told ABC affiliate WTAE. "This is the second time within two years that they have to go through this, and it's very, very difficult on them."
Schaab's family saw the shooting at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic on the news, but thought he was safe since it took place on the first floor and he worked on an upper floor in the geriatric unit.
"I have letters from patients' families that just raved about him, about how good he was to their spouses or mother or father," Mary Schaab, Michael's mother, told The Associated Press. "He was the best person in the whole world."
Schaab lost her only other child, Nancy, who was the victim in a domestic dispute two years ago.
Michael Schaab was gearing up to start graduate school and was planning his March 2013 wedding while balancing his work at the clinic.
"It was clear that Michael was truly a leader among our staff, and he was beloved by the geriatric patients whom he cared for every day," Claudia Roth, CEO of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, said. "He will be greatly missed."
Police identified the shooter today as 30-year-old John Shick. Shick killed Schaab and wounded seven others before being killed by police.
Shick was carrying two hand guns. One was traced to Texas and the other had been reported stolen.
After entering the hospital at 1:40 p.m., he proceeded to open fire on the first floor, wounding five staff members, Roth said.
A University of Pittsburgh police officer was also grazed in the leg.
The names of the wounded have not been released.
All five of the hospitalized victims are expected to survive, however two were listed in serious condition.
Gregory Brant, 53, told the AP he was in a waiting room on the first floor when the shooter entered.
"We heard a bunch of yelling, some shooting, people yelling,`Hide! Hide!" he said. "Everyone's yelling, `Stay down!"'
Jeffrey Romoff, CEO of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, praised the "work, professionalism and prompt response" of first responders.
"[We are] deeply, deeply saddened by today's events," he said. "I want to express our deepest sympathies to the victims."
Immediately after the shooting, SWAT teams from Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, the Port Authority and state police rushed to the scene, bringing along bomb-sniffing dogs.
The 289 patients in the hospital were not evacuated.
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