PITTSBURGH — A man died early Sunday morning after he was shot in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood, authorities said.
A gunshot was heard about 3 a.m. by officers who were on patrol in the neighborhood, police said. It was soon followed by a report that a man had been shot.
Officers responded to the 200 block of Copperfield Avenue, outside the Carrick Lit Club, where the victim was found in the street.
Paramedics took the man to UPMC Mercy Hospital. He was pronounced dead shortly before 4:30 a.m.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said the man, identified as 28-year-old Donald Ketter Jr., died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
Police said Ketter had gotten into an altercation with 37-year-old Derek Vasos, who allegedly fired a gun at Ketter from an Uber vehicle while leaving the club.
Derek Vasos
According to a criminal complaint, the driver watched Vasos disassemble a .22 caliber handgun and remove bullets from the magazine.
Police spent the early-morning hours investigating in the parking lot and the street in front of the Lit Club, which neighbors told Channel 11 News is a nuisance bar where a lot of fights happen.
Police said Vasos made the driver leave the scene. A description of the vehicle was broadcast over the radio, and officers located the vehicle before it could get away.
Channel 11's Renee Kaminski spoke with Ketter’s father, Donald Ketter Sr., who said he cannot comprehend why his son was shot and killed.
“He didn't deserve it at all,” Ketter Sr. said.
Relatives said they knew of no bad blood between the men and added that nothing obvious happened between the two inside the Lit Club.
Police said they have witnesses, including the Uber driver, who said Ketter Jr. stood in front of the Uber car in which Vasos was a passenger and taunted him, removing his belt and wrapping it around his hand.
Authorities said Vasos fired one shot as the Uber driver pulled away.
Phil DiLucente, Vasos' attorney, said his client acted in self-defense and has no criminal record.
"He's distraught. He's upset. He certainly didn't want this to happen, but he also can't control the things that come upon him or toward him," DiLucente said.
Ketter Sr. disagreed, calling Vasos a coward.
“This was just cowardly. He destroyed his own life and he destroyed ours,” Ketter Sr. said.