Leon Raymond Wall, described as homeless by several reports, armed with a kitchen knife, ran into a Target store in Pittsburgh around 5:30 p.m. and slashed two men and seriously injuring a teenage girl on Monday.
Wall was being chased from a fight that occurred down the street from the store, at Highland Avenue and Whitfield Street, where police said a fourth person was slashed before he ran into the Target.
After entering the store, Wall reportedly ran into a second floor bathroom. Police spokeswoman Diane Richardson said the man was seen chasing one of his pursuers from the Target restroom.
Wall then ran towards the checkout lanes and grabbed a 16-year-old girl standing in line with her family. He then held the girl in front of him as a hostage while holding the knife.
"You come close, I'll stab her," he said, before stabbing her in the back, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The man was tackled by several men while still holding the girl. According to reports, Wall was beaten with fists and a baseball bat. He was then arrested by police, who used Tasers and pepper spray to subdue him.
The girl, who was stabbed in the back and arm, is in critical condition at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Two other men were also stabbed, one in the mouth and the other on a slashed finger.
"I took a peek at the top of the steps, and the guy was chasing the dude around with a long, long knife," a witness told Pittsburgh station WTAE. "It was a long, long knife. He was chasing him around through the aisles."
"After he grabbed the (16-year-old) he was screaming, 'They tried to rob me.' They have my wallet. It looked like he was holding her hostage. He seen the man coming after him with a bat and he grabbed the woman. They were trying to get him," witness Dominique Gomez told the Tribune-Review. "One man was stabbed in the mouth. Another was stabbed in the finger. I think the man who was stabbed in the mouth was one of those came up here looking for him."
One of the men who attempted to subdue the attacker told WTAE, "That little girl, he just kept stabbing her. I just couldn't stand there and watch that. It was crazy in there. That was horrible. That was something you don't want to see again, ever."
Another witness, Chris Jones, 44, told the Tribune-Review that he was outside the store when the man with the knife ran by.
"This guy obviously had no regard for anybody," he said. "By the time I got in the store, the guy with a knife was getting his butt beat with a bat and fists... Everybody was freaking out, hiding behind shelves, trying to stay out of the way."
Wall is being charged with attempted murder. He was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital.
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