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Western Psych patient accused of attacking hospital staffer

PITTSBURGH — Channel 11's Renee Kaminski obtained police paperwork Wednesday that details an alleged attack and sexual assault of a Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC staffer.

Pittsburgh police said a 37-year-old psychiatric patient, whose identity was not revealed since he is a mental health patient, attacked and sexually assaulted an employee at Western Psych who was trying to help him on Valentine’s Day.

According to the victim’s account given to police, the patient “grabbed the victim by her throat, choked her, slammed her into the wall.”

The victim told police that the patient told her that he had killed before and had no problem killing her if she didn’t keep quiet.

The victim was taken to a hospital. Her current condition is not known, but it is known that she has not returned to work.

Gloria Krepps, the director of media relations at UPMC, issued the following statement in regard to the incident: "We are fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities. The safety and security of our employees and patients is of the highest priority."

In 2012, Channel 11 reported on several attacks on employees by patients inside the psychiatric ward of UPMC McKeesport, including a shooting that injured seven people and left two dead, one of which was the gunman.

Following that shooting, UPMC pledged $10 million in security improvements.

Although officials at UPMC would not comment on how much they’ve actually spent and what they’ve done to improve security, they told Channel 11 that they’ve made changes across the board.

WPXI

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