Friends remember man shot, killed while riding bicycle in Bloomfield

PITTSBURGH — Friends are remembering the man who was shot and killed while riding his bicycle in Bloomfield.

Police said a witness saw Alex Yerkey riding his bike on Sunday afternoon before turning onto Pearl Street. The witness then heard yelling and then a single gunshot went off. Yerkey was shot in the head and the witness said the man responsible simply walked away.

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“He had his baseball bat in his bag, he was going to play like we always used to,” said Ethan Wdowiak, the victim’s friend.

Childhood friends Wdowiak and Matt Nehr said Yerkey was on his way to play baseball that afternoon. When they heard he had been shot and killed, they were in disbelief.

“Alex never got into any trouble or anything, so it’s like, ‘What would have caused this?’ There isn’t an answer and that’s kind of one of the hardest parts,” Nehr said.

According to a criminal complaint, police are still investigating that motive, but said on Sunday afternoon around 2:30 p.m., Lukas Kislak shot and killed Yerkey just a few blocks from his Bloomfield home.

Friends said Yerkey, a Bethel Park native, had moved to Bloomfield with his girlfriend just a few months ago. His friends said he loved three things: music, baseball and the city of Pittsburgh.

A University of Pittsburgh graduate, he’d worked in the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.

“He had structures as a kid that he would build out of paper, and I always knew he wanted to do something with the city,” Wdowiak said.

Mayor Ed Gainey released a statement about Yerkey, calling his murder senseless, and said Yerkey was kind and passionate about making Pittsburgh a better place:

“Pittsburgh, please join me in prayer for the family and friends of Alex Yerkey, whose life was taken in a senseless act of gun violence. Alex was a kind, gentle, and thoughtful person who was passionate about making Pittsburgh a better place for everyone.”

His friends said it was his passion along with his patience and kindness for others that made Yerkey the type of friend you wanted to be around.

“He was always even-keeled, so patient with everybody, it was just a pleasure to be friends with him,” Wdowiak said.

Nehr said accepting the loss of his childhood friend will be difficult.

“It’s surreal the way it all lined up, he was just over at my house with all of our friends the night before,” Nehr said.

But he will hold on to all of the fond memories.

“It was the first day of first grade and he was sitting across the room and had a toy motorcycle and I walked over and said, ‘Hey that’s a nice bike,’” Nehr said.

Wdowiak said he will cherish their last text message. Yerkey sent him a video of a new song he was working on.

“It was a happy song, he was playing, and that stuck with me that he was in a head space that was uplifting,” Wdowiak said.

Friends plan to host a celebration of life vigil on Friday at Friendship Park from 7 to 9 p.m.

A GoFundMe has been started for the family.

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