New task force promises to make Pittsburgh region safer, keep guns out of criminal’s hands

PITTSBURGH — A new task force claims it could stop guns from ever getting into the hands of criminals.

Several agencies are going to be involved in the task force, including state police, Allegheny County police and Pittsburgh Public Safety.

“I’m honored to be standing here with these individuals, these leaders in law enforcement. These individuals that dedicate every day to keep the Pittsburgh area safe,” State Attorney General, Michele Henry said.

Their goal is to stop the illegal selling and trafficking of illegal guns and gun violence in Allegheny County.

One of their biggest challenges is stopping “straw purchases” — which is when someone buys a firearm for another person who isn’t allowed to have one, like a felon or a teenager.

“These straw purchase firearms end up at crime scenes. They end up in shootings, where individuals are killed. They’re putting the guns in the hand of individuals who are going to use them. We are seeing that over and over again,” Henry said.

Zappala brought up several high-profile gun violence crimes in the county, so we took the opportunity to ask the Attorney General if her team would look into prior cases that have yet to be solved — like the Airbnb mass shooting, where no one has ever been charged, and the Kennywood shooting, where charges were dismissed.

The district attorney answered.

“The matter of the Airbnb… we have had to use extraordinary means to continue that investigation. That still is an ongoing matter. I can’t speak to that matter beyond that.  Kennywood Park, I think, in part, what that indicated was that we were not prepared to have that type of weapon or those types of weapons on that campus. At the same time, protect the people that come there. That was just a very difficult case to proceed on.

Several agencies are going to be involved in this task force — including state police, county police, and Pittsburgh Public Safety.

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