Pittsburgh man charged in officer-involved shooting incident on IUP campus
The suspect in an officer-involved shooting incident on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania is facing multiple charges after police say he called 911 and made a false robbery report before wielding a knife when officers responded to the scene.
Cameron Held Raubaugh, 19, of Pittsburgh, was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of possessing instruments of crime, simple assault and false reports to law enforcement authorities. He was placed in the Indiana County Jail and bail was denied.
The incident began at around 9:30 Sunday when Raubaugh called 911 to make a false report of an alleged robbery, according to a state police report. In his call to 911, Raubaugh reported that the suspect in the alleged robbery had a knife, was wearing all-black clothing, and was in the stadium parking lot on the IUP campus.
IUP officers dispatched to the scene saw a person, later identified as Rambaugh, in the area of the George P. Miller Stadium. He had a knife and was dressed in black clothing.
Raubaugh ran toward one of the IUP officers, charging and pushing him and causing him to fall, according to the report. The officer fired one shot from their firearm and Raubaugh fled on foot.
Following a foot pursuit and Taser deployment, Raubaugh was taken into custody by a trooper and officers with IUP and Indiana Borough Police Department in the area of 722 Grant Street.
Raubaugh had a knife and a ski mask, according to the report.
No one was injured.
State police said Raubaugh intentionally assaulted the IUP police officer while wielding the knife in an attempt to be shot by the officer.
Channel 11′s Andrew Havranek spoke with students at IUP Monday afternoon, they say they were on edge after getting the notification Sunday night about the alleged robbery.
“It was very scary because of the Chevy Chase shooting, and it’s just been a wacky semester so far,” said Nicolas Painter, a senior.
“When I first got the alert, I didn’t know if the suspect was caught or whatever,” added sophomore Daniel Schwabauer. “It’s a little frightening whenever something happens on campus like that.”
Both said they were glad that the police handled the situation as if it was an actual robbery.
“Oh yeah, definitely. I feel like my mom was more worried than I was, but it was definitely a big relief for both of us,” Schwabauer said.
“I’m very happy the police take it seriously and they are here to protect us and always here to help us out,” Painter said.
Raubaugh is being held without bond in the Indiana County Jail awaiting a mental health evaluation.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 8.
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