Police arrest New Castle woman after hostage situation at Leet Twp. special needs school
LEET TWP. — A hostage situation at a local school led to the arrest of one New Castle woman on Wednesday.
Police said they were called to The Watson Institute Wednesday morning following reports of a school nurse being stabbed and a student taken hostage.
When they arrived at the scene, they found Rochelle Lynn Pinkle, 40, had a student held at knifepoint inside of a school van.
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Officers responded to the scene at The Watson Institute around 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The school, which focuses on students with special needs, called local police after Pinkle allegedly stabbed a nurse twice in her upper back.
It is currently unknown if Pinkle, who served as a bus aide at the school, knew the nurse that she is accused of attacking. The nurse was taken to Allegheny General Hospital for treatment, but her condition remains unknown at this time.
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Officers found Pinkle inside one of the school's transportation vans with a 14-year-old student held at knifepoint. After a 25-minute standoff with officers, the student was released from the hostage situation unharmed and returned to the school building.
After the altercation with police, Pinkle allegedly continued to resist arrest and had to be subdued with a taser by the arresting officers. Throughout the struggle, she kicked multiple officers in the legs and bit two officers.
Pinkle is facing felony charges, with four counts of aggravated assault and one count of child endangerment. She also faces a list of misdemeanor charges, including simple assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, possessing a weapon on school property, possession of instruments of crime and resisting arrest.
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Garret Roberts is the local Public Priority reporter for The Beaver County Times. He can be contacted at groberts1@gannett.com and can be followed on Twitter at @ReportedRoberts.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Watson Institute hostage situation ends with police standoff and arrest
