Two men arrested in deadly shooting near Schenley Park

PITTSBURGH — Two men are facing charges in a shooting death in South Oakland, not far from Schenley Park.

Police arrested Velmon Dowling, 21, and Shayne Andrew Craighead, 22, in the slaying of 24-year-old Hasan Ishmae Abdul-Rabb.

Only Channel 11 was there moments after police arrested the pair in the Old Town Buffet restaurant parking lot along Saw Mill Run Boulevard.

Police say both men tried to run away, but didn't make it far, and that they were actually driving the murder victim's rental car.

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Officers were called to Ward Street around 5:30 p.m. Monday for a report of a body lying in the street. When they arrived, they found Abdul-Rabb had been shot at least once.

He died at the scene.

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There is a lot of University of Pittsburgh student housing on Ward Street and residents say it is typically quiet.

It's also a couple of blocks away from the campus.

According to the criminal complaint, this all started as an attempted drug deal, when Abdul Rabb picked up another person in his Impala rental car in McKeesport before arriving in South Oakland for the deal.

Abdul Rabb's body was found lying along Ward Street.  Witnesses said it appeared there was some sort of altercation before the shot was fired and then Abdul-Rabb's body had been shoved out of the car.

Police say during interviews, Craighead initially denied having ever been in Oakland Monday evening, then admitted to the shooting, stealing the victim's car and tossing the murder weapon off the Birmingham Bridge on his way to the South Side.

Both are being charged with homicide and were denied bail.

Cox Media Group