Man fires Airsoft gun outside Benedum Center
A man dressed all in black walked into a crowd gathered in front of the Benedum Center on Wednesday evening for a showing of “Fiddler on the Roof” and opened fire with an Airsoft pistol.
The pistol looked real, and the panicked crowd scattered as the man, identified as Andre Freeman Jr., 29, of LincolnLemington, started shooting around 7:15 p.m., according to a criminal complaint.
“I heard this popping sound,” said Kevin C. Wilkes, 51, chief security officer for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
“I looked to the left and saw a gentleman with what appeared to be a gun in his hand, and he was walking down the street aiming it toward the area where
Andre Freeman Jr. of Lincoln-Lemington has several minor arrests on his record dating back to 2013, including for simple assault, disorderly conduct and drug possession. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Dec. 3 in City Court, Downtown.
our guests were located, going inside the Benedum.”
The man abruptly stopped shooting and started to jog away. Mr. Wilkes gave chase and caught up with Mr. Freeman, tackling him at Penn Avenue and Seventh Street.
Mr. Freeman dropped the gun, and another theater employee, Carolyn Johnson, kicked the weapon away and stood over it. Moments later, a uniformed police officer who’d been working security at the theater arrived and took Mr. Freeman into custody.
“It was pretty unbelievable,” Mr. Wilkes said.
After Mr. Freeman was handcuffed, Mr. Wilkes and the officer examined the gun and realized it was an Airsoft weapon; its plastic pellets would likely break the skin but not do serious damage. No one was hurt in the incident.
Mr. Freeman did not speak much after he was arrested, Mr. Wilkes said, and was only marginally responsive to questions.
“What I can share is that he made no anti-Semitic remarks or anything of that nature,” said Mr. Wilkes, who spent nearly two decades as a Pittsburgh police officer before moving into private security. “Fiddler on the Roof” is about discrimination against Jews in 1905 Russia.
Mr. Freeman was charged with discharging an air gun, carrying a fake firearm, causing or risking catastrophe, simple assault and disorderly conduct. He was being held at the Allegheny County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
The incident occurred just six days after the Benedum Center began using new security measures, including metal detectors and bag inspections. The cultural trust has rolled out increased security at several venues in the Cultural District in the last two months.
“It just reiterates to me in today’s climate we are doing the right things to ensure the safety and security of our guests,” Mr. Wilkes said.
Mr. Freeman has several minor arrests on his record dating to 2013, including for simple assault, disorderly conduct and drug possession. He is scheduled to appear Dec. 3 for a preliminary hearing in City Court.