Attorney says stabbing suspect in need of help
PITTSBURGH — The attorney for a teenager accused in a mass stabbing at a Pennsylvania high school says the 16-year-old boy’s mental condition is deteriorating and he needs psychiatric care.
Patrick Thomassey filed a petition in Westmoreland County on Friday seeking to have Alex Hribal transferred from a youth detention center to a secure mental health facility.
The petition says Hribal was diagnosed in May with schizophrenia and a depressive disorder.
District Attorney John Peck says he will make a decision on whether to oppose the request once he has reviewed the petition.
Hribal is charged with stabbing 20 fellow students and a security guard at Franklin Regional High School outside Pittsburgh. He’s charged as an adult in the April 9 attack, but his attorney is seeking to have the case transferred to juvenile court.
