Mother liable for shooting rampage of son in Pennsylvania

The mother of a Pennsylvania man who opened fire in a mental health clinic in 2012 is liable for the rampage, an attorney for a victim said. John Shick, 30, killed a therapist and wounded five others inside Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Oakland, Pa., before he was killed by responding police officers. An unidentified attorney for former receptionist, Kathryn Leight, who was shot but survived, filed a 71-page court document Tuesday, detailing extensive emails, phone calls and other communication between Shick and his mother, Susan Shick. The filing outlines John Shick's extensive history of mental illness, his mother's attempts to help him and refer to "Susan's failure to exercise reasonable care to control John to prevent him from causing bodily harm to others if not controlled," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Wednesday. Her attorneys have said state courts have no jurisdiction over her and that she should not be held liable for the criminal conduct of her son, the newspaper added. The court filing is the latest maneuver in the plaintiff's suit, which includes the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the doctors who treated Shick. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wittick has yet to rule on the requests.