WILKINSBURG, Pa., March 1 - A
gunman went on a shooting spree at two
fast-food restaurants on Wednesday,
killing one person and wounding four.
Police apprehended the assailant hours
later, after he took several hostages in a
nearby building.

The gunman first shot a maintenance worker in his
apartment, then went to a McDonald's restaurant, where
he shot three people, and a Burger King, where he shot
one person, police said.

The assailant was cornered in a nearby office building,
where he briefly held hostages before he was
apprehended.

Police had cordoned off the area and halted all traffic. A
SWAT team and FBI officers were on the scene along
with a hostage negotiator.

All of the shooting victims were in critical condition at
hospitals in Pittsburgh, nine miles to the west. One victim
was shot in the head but it was not known whether he or
she was the person who died.

According to local reports, the gunman called for
someone to repair something in his apartment and when
the maintenance workers arrived, he apparently lit his
apartment on fire and shot the maintenance worker in the
neck. The assailant was armed with a handgun when he
reportedly went into the McDonald's at about 11:30 a.m.
and shot three people.

Police said a fifth person was shot at the nearby Burger
King restaurant.

"We're still trying to figure out what's going on," said
Henry Hoffman, operations manager for the Wilkinsburg
police.

Four people were in critical condition at
UPMC-Presbyterian, said spokesman Frank Raczkiewicz.
A 65-year-old Wilkinsburg man also was in critical
condition at Mercy Hospital with a single gunshot wound
to the head, said spokeswoman Linda Ross.

Tony Elhaja, the manager of a Dunkin' Donuts next to the
McDonald's, said the daughter of the man shot in the
parking lot came into his store to wait for police.

"She ran inside and was crying," said Elhaja, adding that
police told people to remain indoors.