Police, SWAT Find Nothing Suspicious In Squirrel Hill Home
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After surrounding a home and blocking off a road in Squirrel Hill Saturday afternoon, officials say they found nothing suspicious.
It happened in the 6500-block of Beacon Street, a cul-de-sac, near Bartlett Street. Authorities began clearing the area around 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh police were on the scene for a few hours, and the SWAT team was called in for back up around 5 p.m. The City of Pittsburgh Mobile Command Post arrived around 5:30 p.m.
Officials say the call originally came in to the Zone 4 police station as a possible burglary. According to initial reports at the scene, there may have been weapons found on the floor of the house when officers arrived.
More than a dozen SWAT team members responded.
"Upon our arrival, the first units arrived on scene and found the front of the house was indeed open and there was a possibility that someone had gained entry into the house," said Sgt. William Vollberg, of the Pittsburgh Police Department. "Upon initial investigation, it was believed that there may in fact be a person in the house other than the homeowner. There was also information that there may have been a weapon or weapons available to that burglar."
The homeowner was not home at the time, and officials say was not in any way involved in the incident. KDKA's Kym Gable reports that officials tell her he was an elderly man who apparently came home after police were on the scene.
He was escorted to an ambulance that was parked outside of the home during the investigation, but is expected to be okay.
Authorities say loud speakers were used to try to make contact with a person they thought might have been inside.
Officials report that when authorities entered the home, they went floor by floor, but found nothing suspicious inside.
Meanwhile, the incident has left neighbors shaken up.
"My wife and two young kids are in the house next door to where things are going on," said Mark Schwartz, a neighbor. "Apparently, everything's okay, but they're not allowed to leave and I'm not allowed to go in at this point."
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