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Mental health emergency cause of road, school closure

OAKLAND TWP — The emergency call that shut down a stretch of Bonniebrook Road Tuesday and placed a nearby Catholic school on lockdown was sparked by a mental health emergency.

State Police Captain Steve Ignatz said police responded to a call about at 9:30 a.m. about a man who was suspected to be trying to hurt himself in a house on Bonniebrook Road. The man's family members reported the incident, Ignatz said.

Family believed the man was in the home's garage with vehicles turned on, Ignatz said, possibly attempting to self-asphyxiate.

“They felt he was probably armed,” Ignatz said.

Police directed St. Wendelin School to lockdown from about noon until 2 p.m., as a precaution.

There was an exchange over a loudspeaker with the man, police said. He was eventually submitted to a mental health examination process, according to police.

No one was harmed during the incident, police said.

“There was no immediate threat to students,” said the Rev. Tom Kunz, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The school lockdown was over at 2 p.m. and the Bonniebrook and St. Wendelin roads also reopened.

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