‘You don’t have to pull out the guns’: Neighbors shaken after deadly shooting in Penn Hills bar

PENN HILLS, Pa. — Neighbors are shaken after a shooting in a Penn Hills bar killed two people and injured seven others.

>>> 2 people killed, 7 people hurt in Penn Hills shooting, police say

The Allegheny County Police Department says an argument inside Ballers Hookah Lounge and Cigar Bar escalated into a deadly shooting early Sunday morning.

“You argue? Ok, walk away. You don’t have to pull out the guns all the time, can we get enough,” neighbor Rena Parrotte said.

PHOTOS: Police investigate Penn Hills shooting that killed 2 people, hurt several more

Parrotte tells Channel 11 she received text messages from friends concerned about her well-being early Sunday morning.

That’s how she initially found out about the deadly shooting at the bar, located directly across the street from her on the 3500 block of Laketon Road.

“I’m still praying and hope everybody is ok and then I watched the news,” Parrotte said.

Local news programming is where she learned of the shooting.

County police closed down part of the road while investigating the shooting. Family members of a man who was working inside the bar showed up at the scene, telling us they hadn’t heard from him.

“That’s the saddest thing, people trying to give y’all places to go and enjoy yourselves at a certain time, and then look what happened here,” Parrotte said.

Detectives believe at least two people fired guns.

A man and woman were shot and killed. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified them as Nathaniel Smiley Jr., 44, of Pittsburgh, and Stephanie Stuart, 28, of McKeesport.

Seven others were injured, including one person in critical condition.

“Pittburgh’s got too much to live for, we’ve got things coming. And things to come and we don’t want to discourage all this good business to come to Pittsburgh. Because of... we acting a fool,” Parrotte said.

Allegheny County Police Department Homicide Unit detectives are leading the investigation. Anyone with information about what happened at Baller’s Lounge should call police at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.

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