A Shaler woman accused of stabbing another woman Thursday afternoon has been charged, according to Allegheny County Police.
Shannon M. Jennings, 38, is charged with aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment of another person and harassment, according to court records.
Police were dispatched to the 200 block of Hugel Drive in Shaler around 2:20 p.m. for reports of a stabbing. First responders found two women with injuries — Jennings with a knee injury and another woman with multiple stab wounds on her face, neck and torso, according to a criminal complaint.
Jennings was taken to UPMC St. Margaret and the other woman was taken to Allegheny General, the complaint said.
Jennings told police at the hospital that the woman, who she had not seen in 20 years, kicked Jennings’ apartment door in and started punching her. Jennings, who was on the phone in her kitchen at the time, told police the altercation continued into her living room.
Jennings grabbed a knife and stabbed the woman between four and six times, she told police. The altercation lasted about 45 seconds, Jennings told police, before her boyfriend separated the two women.
The altercation never moved outside, Jennings told police.
The woman told police that the altercation resulted from insulting comments Jennings made about her on Facebook.
She told police that Jennings posted disparaging remarks about various Facebook users and their children. The woman responded, and Jennings began making comments about the woman’s children and previous drug use, according to the complaint.
The two women exchanged private messages on Facebook, the complaint said. In one of the messages, Jennings said she would go to the woman’s home and “shoot it up” and blow it up with dynamite. The woman, who lives with her elderly parents and children, said she would go to Jennings’ apartment instead. Jennings provided the address, the complaint said.
When the woman arrived at the apartment, she told police that Jennings and Jennings’ boyfriend approached her vehicle on foot. The woman got out of the vehicle and she and Jennings began fighting one another, the complaint said. The woman told police she grabbed Jennings’ hair and punched her in the face.
The woman told police she noticed blood pouring from her chest, face and neck and realized she had been stabbed several times. Jennings’ boyfriend told Jennings “you don’t need to do all that,” the woman told police.
Jennings’ boyfriend picked Jennings off the ground and took her into the apartment, according to the complaint. The woman called a friend, who called 911. No altercations took place inside Jennings’ apartment, she told police.
Jennings’ boyfriend told police he went to the apartment to return a cable box. Jennings told him the woman was on her way to the apartment to “beat” her, the complaint said. He went outside to smoke a cigarette on the patio until he heard Jennings scream for help, he told police.
He left the patio and saw blood and a knife on the ground outside, the complaint said. Jennings and the woman were fighting on the ground, he told police. He kicked the knife away and separated the two women before Jennings asked him to call 911, the complaint said.
A preliminary hearing for Jennings has not yet been scheduled. No charges have been filed against the other woman.
Anyone with information can call 1-833-ALL-TIPS (255-8477) to reach the county police tip line. Callers can remain anonymous.