‘It shouldn’t have went that far.’ Relative of people shot outside McKees Rocks club describes what happened

McKEES ROCKS, Pa. — We’re continuing to learn new information about what led to a deadly shooting outside a club in McKees Rocks early Friday.

Law enforcement tells Channel 11 they were called to Club Erotica on Island Avenue after multiple reports of gunshots. Five people were shot, and two men died.

The two men killed were identified as Christopher Butler, 22, and Seth McDermit, 31. The other three shooting victims, two women and a man, were rushed to area hospitals for treatment.

Homicide charges filed

Detectives said 24-year-old Charles Becher was responsible for shooting and killing McDermit. Becher also sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound during the gunfire. He told investigators he fired in self defense.

25-year-old Khalil Walls was responsible for killing Butler, according to police. Walls was seen on security camera shooting at Butler.

Both men were charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault, and were taken to the Allegheny County Jail.

What investigators uncovered about the deadly shooting

According to court documents, police interviewed one of the shooting victims at Allegheny General Hospital. He told them he went to the club with McDermit, Butler and other friends.

At some point, his friends stepped outside to smoke. Several minutes later, a fight started with several women. The man told police he knew one of the women and told her to calm down and leave the other people alone.

A man at the scene then pulled out a gun and pointed it at his face. He told police one of his friends then tackled the gunman and another man started shooting. Once the shooting started, he told police he started running toward the McKees Rocks Bridge and was shot in the arm.

Becher was also interviewed by detectives. He told police he went to the club with family and friends. He said one of his cousins came inside and told him that someone was getting jumped and some of his group were involved in the fight. He went outside and told police there were four to five guys in the parking lot “threatening to beat them and kill them.” Becher said the group kept saying they were in a biker gang.

Court documents say Becher told police a man started getting into the face of a woman in his group and he stepped between them. The man then pulled up his shirt, revealing a gun. Becher said he then pulled out his gun, which he has a permit for and is legally allowed to carry. He pushed the man, was knocked to the ground by a punch, and then heard gunshots.

He said he was able to roll over, pick up his gun from the ground and fire at the group of men that was attacking him.

Walls was tracked back to an apartment in Pittsburgh. Police were able to track his Jeep leaving the scene of the shooting. A search warrant was executed at the apartment, and police were able to find a Glock 9 mm as well as the clothes he was seen wearing during the shooting.

Reaction to the deadly shooting

Rodney Copeland lives behind the club and wants to see it shut down.

“I really hope that the people who got shot are doing well. I’m sorry to hear about the deaths,” Copeland said. “Please don’t visit these clubs. It’s not worth it. It really ain’t. It’s not worth to die trying to have fun.”

A spokesperson for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office released the following statement late Friday morning:

“Last night’s shooting is extremely concerning and our office will be reaching out to the owners to schedule a meeting and discuss the operation of that establishment and any impacts on public safety it is having on that business district and community.”

“It’s just really sad because it shouldn’t have went that far. I guess it’s just upsetting that two people really lost their life,” a relative of two of the shooting victims told Channel 11. She didn’t want to be identified, but she wanted people to know what happened.

“I just started crying. I was really emotional. Some guy was holding him and said he just had a kid and stuff,” she said.

Without a second thought, though, she jumped in to help.

“I instantly started CPR, kept going. I was trying to bring him back to life,” she said.

She also said the police could have done more to save the victims when they arrived.

“I’m just a bystander. I see this guy lying on the ground and I’m the only one doing CPR on him. No police are doing CPR on this guy. I was just really upset,” she said.

RAW: Two men shot dead in McKees Rocks

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