Grand jury to hear testimony regarding Easter Sunday mass shooting at Pittsburgh Airbnb

PITTSBURGH — More than a year after the Easter Sunday mass shooting at an Airbnb on the North Side, Channel 11 has confirmed that a grand jury is hearing testimony and reviewing evidence on the case.

It could ultimately lead to an indictment.

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Every day since the shooting, Bonnie McLain has hoped for an update on the shooting that killed her great nephew, Matthew Steffy-Ross.

She’s now one step closer to getting answers.

“Whatever has brought it to this point, and whoever got it to this point, I’m grateful and thankful to them,” McLain told Channel 11.

Steffy-Ross and another teen were killed when hundreds of bullets went flying inside the Airbnb on the North Side on Easter Sunday in 2022.

Since then, no one has been charged.

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But that could all change, depending on what comes out of the grand jury investigation.

“They’re getting the specifics that we didn’t hear about. Whether it’s the witnesses, the ballistics, the firearms used, and so forth,” Defense attorney and legal analyst, Blaine Jones said.

Plus, prosecutors have the upper hand.

“The catch is there are no defense attorneys cross-examining any of these witnesses. So essentially, the prosecutor controls all the information the grand jury will receive,” Jones added.

Channel 11 reached out to District Attorney Stephen Zappala, who told us he doesn’t have a comment.

However, the Democratic nominee in the race for DA, Matt Dugan said in part, “Justice is long overdue for the families of Jaiden Brown and Matthew Steffy-Ross. If the grand jury returns an indictment in this case, when I take office in January, my administration will hold those individuals accountable via a thorough and vigorous investigation.”

McLain hopes the outcome could provide her the answers that she’s desperately wanted.

“I knew it was going to come in one form or another. I always had faith it was going to come,” she said.

Prosecutors and investigators have not released anything about the grand jury, which is protocol. We have reached out to Pittsburgh police and Mayor Gainey’s office to ask if they had a comment, and we never received a response.

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