Attorney attacked in Oakland

A former Allegheny County attorney was assaulted and stabbed Thursday in Oakland, according… A former Allegheny County attorney was assaulted and stabbed Thursday in Oakland, according to a city police report.

Christopher Conrad, 53, the former Allegheny County homicide prosecutor, was stabbed by two men on McKee Place near Bates Street, across from the Merante Groceria on his way to a doctor’s appointment at 9 a.m., the report said.

According to the report, one of the men approached Conrad and walked passed him. The other man, described by Conrad as heavy with reddish-brown hair and a “chinstrap” beard, confronted Conrad and asked, “Do you have anything on you?” according to the report.

Conrad replied, “No,” and the man said, “Let us have your car keys. I saw you get out of that truck.”

Again Conrad replied, “No,” and then man slashed Conrad with a three-inch knife across his chest, according to the report. Conrad said he punched the man in the face just before he saw another knife come from behind the second assailant. He told police he grabbed the second man’s arm, causing the knife to come across Conrad’s face, leaving a gash on his cheek, according to the report.

Conrad was then struck on the head, fell to the ground, and he thinks he blacked out, the report said. City police arrived on the scene at 10 a.m. to find a local schoolteacher administering first aid to a stab wound in Conrad’s abdomen. Conrad was transported to UPMC Presbyterian for stitches and has since been released.

For the second time in as many years, Conrad has been the victim of a daylight stabbing. As was true of the first incident, in 2000, police could not find any witnesses to the attack, according to Lieutenant Michael Piasecki of the Zone 6 Police Station.

On May 16, 2000, around 2 p.m., Conrad was stopped at a red light at the corner of Grant Street and Third Avenue Downtown when a man approached his car window and asked, “Are you Chris Conrad?”

When Conrad replied “yes,” the man pulled a knife and stabbed at his face. No arrests were made in the investigation, according to Piasecki.

Conrad told police the latest incident was “robbery motivated,” yet police are suspicious since Conrad’s Rolex watch, wallet and black Ford Explorer were not stolen.

Police also found blood inside Conrad’s explorer, but when they searched the SUV, they found that the doors were all locked, according to Piasecki.

Police are still investigating the incident and treating it like a “bona fide assault,” according to Piasecki.