Here are a few news items for Monday Sept. 9, 2024.
Leechburg School District has heightened police presence
There will be a heightened security presence Monday for a school in the Leechburg Area School District, Armstrong County, after a suspicious note was found in the district’s high school building on Friday evening.
According to an email the school district sent to Leechburg Area parents obtained by TribLive, Leechburg Area Middle/High School doesn’t believe the note represents a credible threat to students, but will have a heightened police presence Monday morning regardless after an investigation was conducted over the weekend.
The school district email said custodians found a note in the boys’ high school bathroom Friday night, suggesting a threat to the school.
The local police were contacted Saturday, and the school district’s security conducted an investigation that included a sweep of the school and analyzing video footage.
“As a District, we take any threat to the safety of our students seriously,” the email reads. “Our commitment to ensuring their safety is unwavering, and we will continue to investigate and interview students to identify the individual responsible for placing the note in the bathroom.”
Woodland Hills on virtual instruction after ‘swatting’ calls
Woodland Hills School District announced Monday that its students will be in virtual instruction for the day following a series of “swatting calls.”
The calls are falsely reported emergencies and they began early Monday morning, the school district said, according to TribLive news partner WTAE.
Woodland Hills students are being told to remain home and log on virtually for instruction Monday.
The school district covers several municipalities in eastern Allegheny County.
An investigation is ongoing.
Central Catholic closed due to network issue
Students at Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic High School won’t be attending in-person schooling Monday because of a technical issue.
The private school in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood is experiencing a “significant network issue” that has impacted the school’s systems, said Principal Jack Wallace on Monday, according to TribLive news partner WTAE.
Phones, email, PowerSchool, learning platforms and the internet have been affected, and access to school platforms may be limited or unavailable.
WTAE reported that Wallace said in a statement to parents the school is working closely with experts to resolve the issues as quickly as possible, and the school will keep parents and students informed of any updates.
Woman shot in Homewood
A Pittsburgh woman was shot in Homewood on Sunday night.
The woman drove her vehicle to Pittsburgh Fire Engine 17 in Homewood around 9:50 p.m., according to Pittsburgh police. The woman was found to have a gunshot wound to her side and was transported to the hospital by medics in stable condition after firefighters administered aid.
Police responded to two rounds of gunfire that were reported via the city’s ShotSpotter alert at the intersection of Brushton Avenue and Bennett Street just before the woman arrived at the fire station.
Pittsburgh police are reviewing video from the incident and searching for a small SVU that is white in color that is believed to be involved in the incident.
An investigation is underway.
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.