Guns removed from Butler County parish house, priest taken to hospital after welfare check

MERIDIAN, Pa. (KDKA) -- Guns were removed from a parish house and a priest was taken to a hospital after a welfare check in Butler County Tuesday morning, police said. 

Butler Township officers were called to a parish house for St. Conrad Roman Catholic Church on Buttercup Road in Meridian for a welfare check around 5 a.m. According to police, officers learned the call was for "a mental health issue involving weapons." 

"He's not coming out at this point, then all of a sudden I hear him saying, 'no, no,'" said witness Brian Gilliland. 

Police said the man was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for evaluation. 

"We knew he had an AR-15 and other guns because he used to be a  hunter," Gilliland said.

Several guns were removed from the home as part of the investigation, police said. No shots were fired. 

"He looked terrible. Ripped jeans, flannel shirt, dirty t-shirt," Gilliland said.

The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh released a statement saying the priest involved at St. Conrad Church of All Saints Parish has been on a leave of absence for "health reasons." 

"We are grateful that police were able to help to transport the priest by ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation and continued treatment. The priest has been dealing with a challenging ongoing medical condition. We are praying for him, and for police and public safety professionals who provided such great service this morning," the statement said in part.

Police said they won't be releasing any more details at this time. The priest's name was not released.