Two charged in fatal shooting over beer

Three friends went into a wooded ravine in Avalon and took turns shooting a gun into the trees — until one friend fatally shot another during a dispute over beer, according to Allegheny County police.

Musa Ramadhan Muya, 20, of Northview Heights is charged with homicide in the death of 32year-old Emanuel Boneza, who was shot four times about 8 p.m. Tuesday in a ravine near the intersection of Oak and South Starr avenues.

The two men and a third friend, Salim Hamadi Salim, 20, of Avalon, spent several hours together shooting Mr. Muya’s gun, according to a criminal complaint. Mr. Salim recorded videos and photos on his cell phone of each man shooting the gun about 3:30 p.m. and later at 5:45 p.m.

Mr. Salim said that at some point in the afternoon, Mr. Boneza left the ravine to buy beer, since the other two were underage. Mr. Salim said that when Mr. Boneza returned, Mr. Muya became angry because Mr. Boneza purchased “the wrong beer,” according to the complaint.

Mr. Salim told detectives that after returning with the beer, Mr. Boneza fired the gun twice and then handed it to Mr. Muya to reload it.

He said Mr. Muya reloaded the gun and then shot Mr. Boneza four times. Mr. Boneza ran out of the ravine and collapsed at Oak and South Starr avenues. He was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, where he died at 9:27 p.m.

Witnesses saw Mr. Salim and Mr. Muya walking away from the ravine shortly after the shooting and heard the two debating about which way to go. One witness said the men ditched a backpack as they walked.

They were picked up not far from the shooting scene by police officers, who noted they were both sweating profusely, and taken in for questioning. Crime scene investigators found a semiautomatic handgun behind a large rock in the ravine. The gun appeared to be the same weapon seen in the cell phone videos recorded by Mr. Salim, according to the complaint.

Mr. Muya was charged with homicide and carrying a firearm without a license. Mr. Salim was charged with tampering with evidence after he admitted he took the gun from Mr. Muya and put it behind the rock. He was also charged with carrying a firearm without a license.

Mr. Muya is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Oct. 3 in City Court, Downtown. Mr. Salim is scheduled to appear next Thursday.