2 minors dead in shooting at Pittsburgh party
PITTSBURGH — Shots fired at a house party in Pittsburgh early Sunday left two minors dead and at least eight more people wounded, police said.
Hundreds of people had gathered at a short-term rental property, the “vast majority” of them underage, Chief Scott Schubert of the Pittsburgh police department told reporters at a midday news conference.
Shortly after some kind of altercation occurred, gunshots were fired at around 12:30 a.m. both inside and outside, “and potentially back and forth,” Schubert said. Casings found at the scene indicate that handguns and one rifle were used, and police believe there were multiple shooters, Schubert said.
Two male victims died at the hospital, police said, and eight more people were being treated for gunshot wounds. The names of the two male youths who died weren’t immediately released.
Others were injured trying to escape, Schubert said. Two who jumped from windows had broken bones, authorities said. 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 children ran screaming and crying in every direction away from the building.
“It happened so quick,” he said. “It was just crazy. Kids were running everywhere.”
ShotSpotter indicated more than 90 rounds were fired, and Schubert said “we know there was a lot more than that between inside the structure and outside.” Police were processing evidence at as many as eight separate crime scenes spanning a few blocks around the rental home.
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.
“It’s heartbreaking; here we are at Easter and we have multiple families, two that won’t see a loved one,” Schubert said. “Others that are going to be — how can you even have a holiday when your child was involved in something traumatic like this?”