Arrest made after man shot, killed while riding bike in Pittsburgh’s North Side

PITTSBURGH — An arrest has been made in the murder of a local father who was shot and killed while riding his bike this past summer.

>> Family, friends release balloons in honor of North Side father shot, killed while riding his bike

“God just, he worked it out,” said Janice Austin of Clairton.

This was the moment Austin had been praying for.

>> Man fatally shot while riding bike in Pittsburgh’s North Side

“He said, ‘They got him’ and all I could do was just, I cried,” Austin said. “I cried and I said, ‘God, I thank you,’ My prayer was answered.”

Several months after the senseless shooting of her nephew, Dashawn Rankin, 33, an arrest has been made in his murder.

Medford Taylor, 56, was caught in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday after police said surveillance video linked him to the crime.

On June 25, the criminal complaint said Taylor was walking down Federal Street on the city’s North Side as Rankin rode past him on his bike.

The pair had a brief exchange of words. Then, as Rankin rode off, the complaint said Taylor followed him, pulled out a gun and shot him once in broad daylight.

“A lot was lost. He took a life,” Austin said. “I really do miss him. I miss my nephew.”

Surveillance video from a nearby cafe showed him lying in the middle of the street as two men and an off-duty officer tried to help.

Police paperwork said as Rankin was dying, Taylor looked at him and calmly walked away.

“Whatever took place, I’m just glad they got him,” Austin said. “Just let justice take care of that because I’m not here to judge him.”

Rankin was a brother and devoted father of three young kids. His aunt said she misses his smile, laugh and endearing personality.

“People just took to him,” said Austin. “They just draw to him. He was a jokester. He was a loving guy. He really was. I don’t have nothing bad to say about him. That was Dashawn. That was my heart.”

Detectives are working on bringing Taylor back from Atlanta to face charges. He is facing charges of homicide, firearms not to be carried without a license, and persons not to possess firearms.

Channel 11 found out Taylor has a criminal past that included an aggravated assault felony charge in 2022; a simple assault misdemeanor charge in 2011; and a misdemeanor charge for making terroristic threats in 2010.

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