Regulators won’t inspect scene of clinic shooting

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

State regulatory agencies said they will rely on a police investigation at a psychiatric clinic where a gunman opened fire, killing one person and injuring several others, and the hospital’s internal probe to assess whether it followed protocols meant to keep patients and employees safe.

The departments of health and public welfare, each of which has a hand in inspecting and regulating Pennsylvania mental institutions, said Friday they have no immediate plans to conduct an on-site probe of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Police shot and killed the gunman, John Shick, to end the rampage Thursday.

“I think we need to find out from the police their part of the investigation, and we need to wait for Western Psych to do their internal investigation and make a determination at that point,” said Health Department spokeswoman Holli Senior.

“We’ll determine whether the proper protocols were in place and whether the hospital followed those protocols, or if the situation could have been handled in a different manner, and we’ll address those concerns at that time,” she said.

Under state law, the hospital was required to report the shooting to the health department within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, the Department of Public Welfare notified Western Psychiatric on Friday — one day after the fatal shooting — that its license has been renewed for another year. Spokeswoman Carey Miller called the timing “unfortunate” but said the license renewal was based on a clean inspection from January.