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At least four students were shot outside a Pittsburgh high school Tuesday in the city's Homewood West neighborhood, authorities said.

Victims were identified as three boys and one girl, according to a report, with three being 15 years old and one 17-year-old, according to a report.

WATCH: MSU STUDENT SAYS SHE SURVIVED SANDY HOOK MASSACRE AND CALLS FOR ACTION

The shooting occurred shortly after Westinghouse Academy 6-12 dismissed students for the day at 2:15 p.m., and all four students were rushed back inside after they were shot.

Emergency medical technicians soon arrived, and the students were rushed to a local hospital, where they are reported to be in stable condition.

Three of the students were transported by ambulances, and one arrived via private means.

"We need a lot of change here in Homewood. Drastically," said Yvette Luckey, a resident in the area. "Put these guns down. Pick up a book."

Democratic Mayor Ed Gainey asked Pittsburgh citizens to pray for the victims and spoke out against gun manufacturers.

"Westinghouse is a community filled with scholars and champions, and I want everyone to know and celebrate their accomplishments and not just focus on the violence we saw today," he said. "It is on all of us to show these students that we love and care for them as they recover from this tragedy."

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"For too long, gun manufacturers have been able to avoid any accountability for their role in our ongoing epidemic of gun violence," he added. "Earlier today, I called to change the law that gives manufacturers immunity from lawsuits so we can hold these manufacturers accountable for the innocent lives that have been harmed by their weapons."

No suspects have been identified, and there is an investigation into the shooting.

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SHELBY TOWNSHIP/UTICA/STERLING HEIGHTS — Utica Community Schools plans to open an academy at Utica High School next year that will put students on paths toward careers in the medical field.

The district held an informational night last month to introduce district parents to the Utica High School Academy for Health and Human Services. The full-day academy will blend core academic subjects with a career and technical education curriculum focused on medical careers.

The district identified three career pathways that the academy will offer — rehabilitation services, public safety and therapeutic services. Rehabilitation services will concentrate on careers including personal trainers, athletic trainers, registered dieticians and occupational and physical therapists. Public safety will involve careers such as emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters and criminal investigators. Therapeutic services will focus on patient care technicians, medical assistants, registered nurses, physician assistants and doctors.

The district said that the academy will teach English, social studies, math and science courses that are aligned with state guidelines and have a medical angle to them.

Utica Community Schools Superintendent Robert Monroe said that the district tries to give students many ways to find success, and the academy will be one more option available to them.

“We are pleased to add the Utica High School Academy for Health and Human Services to our large portfolio of options. Through this program, we will be able to meet the unique interests of students who want to explore the medical field and give them a competitive advantage to the high paying jobs in the quickly growing field,” he said via email.

The academy setting will be one of its advantages, according to Utica High School Principal Timothy Youngblood.

“The academy approach will provide our students the opportunity to explore their interests in medical studies in a smaller and more concentrated learning environment,” Youngblood said in a press release. “Every student in this program will be working toward a common goal with a full range of courses that support their career interests and passions.”

The program will begin at the ninth grade level for approximately 90 students and will add a grade level each school year. In addition to the curriculum, the program will offer students a medical career expo in their sophomore years, a medical-related job shadowing experience during their junior years and an extended internship during their senior years.

A capstone project will be required of all students in their senior years. The project will involve industry level challenges through Health Occupation Students of America or other challenges identified by professional partners.

The district believes that the academy will boost the number of students who earn college credits while still in high school through agreements with post-secondary institutions and Advanced Placement tests. Students will be able to earn certification through the American Heart Association.

Youngblood said the district has been looking into employment outlooks and where the needs are in the region and across the country.

“We want to create partnerships in the community that will give our kids options. If their choice is to go into the medical field right out of high school, they will be employable right from graduation. If not, we are going to give them a great education to get ready for college. We want to try to reach as many kids as possible,” he said via email.

According to the district’s press release, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that employment in health care careers will grow 13% from 2021 to 2031 and that there will be approximately 2 million new jobs in health care during that time.

UCS worked with partners including Ford Next Generation Learning, Project Lead the Way, Corewell Health (the new name for Beaumont Health) and Macomb Community College in designing the academy.

The Utica High School Academy for Health and Human Services will be the district’s fifth high school specialty program and the second school-based academy. Enrollment began Jan. 20. For more information, visit uticak12.org/hhs.

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When RIT students Julia LaMarra and Celina Alvarado heard about a trip to work on repairing hospital equipment in Guatemala during this past winter break, they jumped at the chance. “I wanted to be able to use what I’ve known from my education and incorporate that into real world experience, especially abroad,” Alvarado said. “I was hoping to fix as many machines as possible and get an opportunity to help out.”

The program is facilitated by a partnership with Engineering World Health (EWH). Iris Asllani, a research associate professor in RIT’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, coordinates this partnership and the classes, trips, and club associated with it. “EWH’s mission of pairing the education of young engineers with the improvement of healthcare around the world aligns perfectly with RIT’s vision of training global engineers. The EWH Winter Institute is a tremendous opportunity for students as it provides an experience that would be all but impossible to simulate on campus.”

Asllani added that “the program, which has been going strong since 2014, reflects a coordinated effort and strong support from the biomedical engineering department, Study Abroad Office — shoutout to Cecelia Hencke who works closely with students and respective offices to ensure a smooth and thorough application process — EWH, and on-the-ground staff.”

The program’s site explains that many hospitals in Guatemala, and in other communities worldwide with struggling healthcare systems, depend on donated medical equipment, such as infant incubators, oxygen concentrators, and hospital beds. But this life-saving equipment often falls into disrepair quickly, and finding technicians to repair this equipment can be difficult. 

Students like Alvarado, a fifth-year double major in mechanical engineering technology and ASL-English interpretation, and LaMarra, a fourth-year student in the mechanical engineering accelerated BS/ME program, can use their skills to help maintain this equipment and to Boost conditions for hospital staff and patients. The students further honed their skills and had a chance to bond together in a preparatory class during the fall 2022 semester before the trip. After finishing the class, the students set out to Guatemala.

When the students split up into groups to work at different hospitals, they each had a different experience, but they all shared the same goal: the students found broken equipment and repaired as much of it as they could. For this year’s trip to Guatemala, EWH reported that the students performed an estimated $144,000 worth of service and repairs. A total of 72 pieces of equipment were returned to service across four different partner hospitals in Guatemala.

Alvarado, who is from Rochester, N.Y., and her groupmate, first-year biomedical engineering BS/MS student Isabella Sanchez from Cali, Colombia, went above and beyond with a secondary project at their hospital placement. Pediatric nurses in their hospital were stuck using two uneven desks pushed together as an infant changing table, which was uncomfortable for them and for the babies. So, Alvarado and Sanchez volunteered to construct a new changing table. They purchased materials, cut, sanded, and painted the wooden frame, and installed a waterproof mattress on top. 

Throughout their time in Guatemala, the students took a variety of excursions to make memories together and immerse themselves in the local culture. In the first week of the trip before their placements at hospitals across the country began, the students traveled together to sites like Parque Central and the Santiaguito volcano, and they also took three days of intensive Spanish lessons. 

As the students split off to their placements, each group stayed with a local host family. LaMarra, who is from Coram, N.Y., remembers her homestay fondly. “When we got there, the host family invited us out to the family barbeque since it was New Year’s Day, and that was the very first thing we did. We played soccer and some board games with all of the little cousins. We ate some amazing food. It was a good experience, a great way to get into the homestay.”

For LaMarra, her observations from working in Guatemala will impact her decisions as an engineer. “One of the most common fixes that I came across was worn out mechanical buttons, and that’s an easy engineering fix before that product goes onto the market. You don’t know how long these medical devices are going to be used and who’s going to get them after your primary customer, so that’s something I’m going to take into my engineering future.”

Plus, the trip became a pivotal moment in her college journey. “I wanted this trip to be an opportunity for me to reinvigorate myself and really develop my love for engineering and try to find my path, and I think it did a good job of that.”

Alvarado echoed LaMarra’s appreciation of the trip. “I’ve traveled abroad and volunteered abroad before and it gives my heart joy, and it makes me happy and really puts things into perspective for me. And so it’s just a good reminder to immerse yourself in different cultures. It really changes how you think about things and your attitude.”

Alaska State Troopers say they arrested a 47-year-old man in Selawik this week on a murder charge in the death of a village resident whose body was found in a tote in the village dump.

A criminal complaint filed Friday in the case identified the man, Lance Brickley, as the husband of the school principal in the Northwest Alaska village. Brickley faces charges of first- and second-degree murder, evidence tampering and third-degree misconduct involving a weapon, according to the complaint.

Troopers said Friday they were notified at almost midnight Wednesday that the body of a man later identified as 41-year-old Timothy Snyder had been found. Troopers based in Kotzebue, investigators from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation and crime scene technicians from the state crime lab traveled to Selawik on Thursday morning.

A community member called troopers late Wednesday night after seeing a hand or arm near a black tote with a yellow cover at the dump, according to an affidavit filed with charges.

The tote, which was covered by a blanket, was marked with either Brickley’s name or the name of his wife, Jeannie Brickley, the affidavit said. A witness told investigators Lance Brickley had brought the tote to the dump with the school’s snowmachine.

Jeannie Brickley was listed as principal of Davis-Ramoth Memorial School in Selawik on Friday morning, but her name and photo were removed from the school website by noon. Assistant principal Jamie Cowart is now acting principal, according to Northwest Arctic Borough School District superintendent Terri Walker.

Troopers said they identified Snyder as the deceased man inside the tote and discovered he had been shot. Investigators determined that Lance Brickley shot Snyder at his home in teacher housing, where Brickley and several other men were drinking, the affidavit said.

Cowart called troopers Thursday morning to say Brickley had confided in him that he had shot Snyder after Snyder hurt a child in the home at the time by squeezing the child’s hand, according to the affidavit signed by troopers Investigator Craig Markiewicz. Brickley told Cowart that Snyder came to his house with weapons, and Brickley shot him around 8 p.m. Wednesday, then “panicked” and took the body to the dump, the investigator wrote.

Other witnesses provided different details than those Brickley gave the school staffer, according to the affidavit.

A witness told investigators he was one of four men drinking at Brickley’s apartment, a group that included Snyder, when Brickley shot the other man with a pistol, the affidavit said. The man said he helped Brickley take the body to the dump and helped clean up at Brickley’s apartment in the four-plex, it said. He also told investigators Snyder did not have weapons at the time of the shooting.

Another man in the group said he saw Brickley chamber a round in his pistol and put it into his pocket before the shooting occurred, though the man was not at the apartment at the time the weapon was discharged, the affidavit said.

Interviewed by Markiewicz on Thursday afternoon, Brickley said Snyder squeezed the child’s hand and tried to push the child’s head toward his crotch, according to the affidavit. Brickley said he had a gun in his coat, which he left at the house when he took the child to the school after the incident with Snyder.

When he came back, Brickley told the investigator, Snyder had kicked in the door and “had the gun out on a table,” the investigator wrote.

Brickley said he put the gun back in his pocket but it somehow came out again and the two men struggled for it before Brickley said he got the gun back, the affidavit said. As Brickley moved the gun from one hand to the other, he told the investigator, the weapon “inexplicably” shot Snyder three times as he was on his back on the floor, Markiewicz wrote.

Brickley said he went to the police department to report what happened but no one was there, the affidavit said. He also said he planned to retrieve the body Thursday when he reported what happened to police.

Brickley told investigators he “never should have had a pistol in the first place” because he was a felon, the affidavit said. Investigators confirmed multiple felony convictions in other states.

Jeannie Brickley, in an interview with troopers, said she got home around 10 p.m. Wednesday to find her husband and two other men there and blood on the kitchen floor, then went to bed, according to the affidavit. The next morning, her assistant principal told her what her husband had shared, the document said. “Lance told Jeannie that he had to do it to protect” the child, Markiewicz wrote.

Jeannie Brickley said the family had a dog that would go into heat “and there is usually blood on the floor from it,” he wrote.

Lance Brickley was arrested without incident, troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said. He was detained at the Selawik Police Department.

Brickley was expected to be flown from Selawik to the Kotzebue Jail, McDaniel said.

Cowart, the assistant principal, will serve as acting principal in Selawik for the rest of the school year, superintendent Walker said Friday morning.

“I am working closely in cooperation with the Alaska State Troopers,” Walker said. “Because this is an ongoing investigation, I cannot provide any further additional information at this time.”

The State Medical Examiner Office is conducting an autopsy on Snyder’s remains. An investigation continues.

Selawik, a village of about 800 people, is about 90 miles east of Kotzebue and 670 miles northwest of Anchorage.

• • •

The students enrolled in the veterinary technology program at Ridgewater College in Willmar are passionate about animals and work hard to successfully complete the rigorous coursework set to them.

“I want to be around animals; I don’t see myself in any other profession,” said Sydney Offerdahl, a second-year vet tech student at Ridgewater.

So it can be a bit demoralizing to know the state of Minnesota doesn’t acknowledge that hard work by requiring veterinary technicians to be licensed by the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine. It can be especially galling when you consider the state requires a license to cut hair.

“You want to be recognized for how much work you did for school,” said Raya Peterson, a second-year vet tech student at Ridgewater.

Minnesota is one of only 10 states that doesn’t regulate its veterinary technicians. The Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association does offer a voluntary certification process for vet tech graduates, but there is no mandated requirements that veterinary technicians must complete or meet to be able to practice.

“Veterinarians can hire virtually anybody off the street and call them veterinary technicians,” whether they’ve gone through the schooling or not, said Dr. Allen Balay.

Balay, an award-winning veterinarian from New London, is the president of the MVMA Veterinary Technician Committee, and has been working to help establish a state license for veterinary technicians since he moved to Minnesota in 1995. The quest will require legislation to be passed by the Minnesota Legislature and signed by the governor.

“This is coming from veterinarians and veterinary technicians,” Balay said. “Veterinarians believe this is the right thing to do.”

Amending the law

The MVMA is proposing to amend the Minnesota Veterinary Practice Act. The changes would include adding a definition for veterinary technician into the statute and requiring that only persons who are licensed by the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine would carry the title of veterinary technician. All other unlicensed workers in a vet clinic would be considered veterinary assistants.

“The public assumes that the person must be competent, must be qualified and had the education,” and the proposed law would make that assumption correct, Balay said.

To become a licensed veterinary technician, an individual will need to graduate from an American Veterinary Medical Association accredited program, pass the National Veterinary Technician Examination, pass an open book jurisprudence exam and pass a criminal background check. To renew the license, a veterinary technician would need to obtain at least 15 hours of continuing education credits every two years.

“It is not easy, but it is fun,” said Katrina Dummer, a second-year student at Ridgewater, about going through the vet tech program. “It’s not just playing with puppies and kittens.”

The bill would include a grandfather clause, allowing all current certified veterinary technicians to apply to be licensed, as long as they are practicing, performed at least 4,160 hours of experience (within the previous five years) and have a letter of recommendation from a licensed veterinarian stating their competency. After the grandfather clause expires, anyone wanting to be a veterinary technician in Minnesota would need to go through the licensure process.

Why license?

Veterinary technicians do much of the behind-the-scenes work at veterinary clinics. A vet tech often administers medication, cares for the animals and acts as an assistant during surgery — including working as the anesthetist. Having the state license veterinary technicians would mean owners could feel comfortable knowing the people helping care for their beloved pet or keeping animals in the food chain healthy are trained to do so.

“It is really hard to ensure the best care for your animal when you don’t know who is taking care of them,” said Abigail Ronkainen, a second-year vet tech student. “When you walk into a vet clinic, you don’t know if the tech went to school. You don’t know what they know.”

A licensed veterinary technician would need to successfully complete a college program and take 15 hours of continuing education credits every two years. This means they would remain up-to-date on the latest medications, treatments and illnesses, including infectious illnesses, such as canine parvovirus or zoonotic diseases, that can jump from animals to humans or between different species of animals. A licensed veterinary technician would also have training in how to deal with animals coming in with infectious diseases and other emergencies.

“We would hopefully know what to do,” Dummer said.

In the next decade, a large shortage of veterinarians is expected to hit the United States, as the baby boomers continue to retire. It will be especially noticeable in care for large animals, such as horses, cows and pigs.

“We are on the cusp of a big shortage of veterinarians. We are expecting a shortage of 10,000 to 15,000 vets by 2030,” Balay said. “There are not going to be enough veterinarians to take care of our food supply.”

Having a licensed veterinary technician could help with that crushing workload, as techs would be able to do more at the vet’s office without the veterinarian having to directly supervise. As long as the veterinarian was available by phone, the veterinary technician could get an animal ready for surgery or start treatment for an illness or injury. It could save time and allow veterinarians to do more and see more animals in a day.

Passing the law

The journey to get a veterinary technician license law passed in St. Paul has been a long one and, as of yet, not successful.

Balay and the MVMA committee were able to get a bill introduced in the House and Senate in 2021, but it never got a committee hearing. This year they are trying again and have reintroduced the bill, HF 1037.

Over the last few months, proponents of the bill, including Balay, have been meeting with Minnesota legislators from both parties, hoping to grow support. Veterinary health matters must go through not only the Health and Human Services Committee of both the House and Senate but the Agriculture Committee as well.

“We’ve got to prepare. It is very fluid and dynamic right now,” Balay said.

There has been an effort to get more stakeholder support as well. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America have signed letters of support. Balay continues to think up ways to spread the word and encourage people to contact their state representatives and senators in support of the measure.

“If you get enough contact from constituents saying this is a good thing, legislators can be impacted on,” Balay said.