PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Police said following last week’s violence that left two people dead, and more than a dozen injured, today the city saw a record in homicides, with 44 murders thus far this year.
During Thursday’s police briefing, officials asked for the public’s help and said they are geared up for the busy weekend ahead.
“We have had 44 homicides so far this year, compared to 38 at this same time last year,” said Commander Richard Ford of the Major Crimes Division.
Commander Ford said that is a 15% increase, andfollowing a deadly weekend, he is urging the public to help officers make more arrests.
Ford addressed Sunday’s quadruple shooting on the North Side that left one dead during the briefing.
“There was an excess of 50 rounds that were fired and there wereseveral people that were out on the street, and we are asking for those people to come forward with any information that they have,” said Ford.
That incident was just one of the many tragedies that happenedover the course of a violent weekend. In total, the city saw five shootingsscattered across Homewood, Stowe, Highland Park, the Hill District and the North Side.
All of this comes just ahead of a busy weekend filled with multiple festivals, a Steelers game, and three major concerts.
“We have taken the extra precaution to make sure we have enoughresources out there to make these events as wonderful as they were a couple of weeks ago,” said Assistant Police Chief Linda Rosato-Barone.
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