PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police say a bystander was hurt when several people opened fire in a Pittsburgh neighborhood early Sunday.
Police say several ShotSpotter alerts came in around 2:10 a.m., with a total of 25 shots fired around Chauncey Drive and Bedford Avenue in the Hill District. Detectives monitoring cameras also reportedly saw multiple people shooting at each other.
Responding officers found two scenes, including seeing a man being helped into a car by a woman. Police tried to assist but say the driver sped off. They were able to speak to the man, who was shot in the leg, at the hospital.
The victim told police he was walking on Bedford when several people started shooting at each other. He said he was shot while trying to run away.
Siroya Mitchell said more than 20 people were in the parking lot of the nearby apartment towers enjoying the warm summer night when there was mass panic.
“They all scattered,” Mitchell said. “People were out here. Kids was out here and when the shots fired, you see people going in different directions, running away. You really don’t know where a bullet’s coming from. You don’t know where it’s going to.”
Mitchell was sitting on her porch when she said it sounded like the gunshots were coming from all directions.
“It was just a good vibe and two seconds, a matter of two seconds,” she said. “You have people who actually live here and moved here with kids, and they don’t even feel safe coming outside their own apartments. Every time you come up here, it’s literally like a jungle.”
It wasn’t too long ago when there was another shooting in the same area. Anthony Young, 35, was gunned down on Bedford Avenue on May 3. A memorial still stands where he was killed.
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“They were out here playing cards in the back of a trunk,” Mitchell said. “They always be gambling, and things got out of hand.”
Detectives charged a suspect in connection to the crime a couple of weeks later.
As for Sunday morning’s shooting, there have been no arrests yet.
“It’s just the beginning,” said Mitchell. “Violence is going to skyrocket up here unless they do something about it.”
Mitchell would like to see more officers patrolling the neighborhood to stop the senseless shootings.
“Be more vigilant,” Mitchell said. “Don’t try to pinpoint somebody just because of the color of their skin.”
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