The short-term rental property where police say a shooting took place at a house party early Sunday morning
PITTSBURGH, April 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Shots fired at a house party in Pittsburgh early Sunday killed two 17-year-olds and wounded at least eight other people, police said.
Hundreds of people — the “vast majority” of them minors — had gathered at a short-term rental property when some kind of altercation occurred and shots were fired at around 12:30 a.m., Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said at a midday news conference.
Schubert said there was gunfire both inside and outside the rental home, “and potentially back and forth.” Bullet casings found at the scene indicating handguns and one rifle were used, he said, and police believe there were multiple shooters.
Eight people were being treated for gunshot wounds, and others were injured trying to escape, Schubert said, including two who broke bones after jumping from windows. One victim was injured after a car was “shot up,” Schubert said.
George Stevens said he was outside a bar next door to the rental property smoking a cigarette when he heard what he thought were fireworks, then saw kids fleeing.
Stevens said he let three girls hide in his vehicle and call their parents as bullets flew by. He said he saw someone inside the rental property holding a gun, as young people ran screaming and crying away from the building.
No arrests were immediately reported but Schubert said “it is our top priority to find out who did this and get them off the street.” He said he couldn’t comment on a possible motive, but he decried the number of illegal guns and too many people with access to them as well as the potent mixture of alcohol, drugs and guns.
Allegheny General Health reported that seven people were treated at Allegheny General Hospital and one at Jefferson Hospital for gunshot wounds or other injuries, but officials declined to release their conditions or other information.
Pittsburgh Public Schools will impose a limited lockdown Monday “out of an abundance of caution,” Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters said in a statement, meaning only people with scheduled appointments will be allowed into the district’s buildings.
The house has been rented for bachelorette parties or other events before, or for families of baseball players due to its proximity to the stadium, but no problems had occurred, he said.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey condemned the violence, which he attributed in part to a failure to get guns off the streets and provide adequate resources to communities. He said the city would call a meeting with local leaders to get feedback on a new, citywide approach to public safety.
“The time is now for us to move with a sense of urgency to bring justice to the victims and peace to our city,” Gainey, who is in isolation because of a recent COVID-19 exposure, said in a statement. — NNN-AGENCIES
