Hill District man charged in death
Police say dispute led to Downtown shooting
A Hill District man has been charged after fatally shooting a man Thursday afternoon in Downtown in a dispute about a woman, according to police.
Terrance Coates — whose age has not yet been made available — was shot multiple times in the chest around 1 p.m. in an alley near Fort Duquesne Boulevard between Sixth and Seventh streets, a criminal complaint said. He was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital in critical condition, but was pronounced dead an hour later.
Taylor Wible, 21, of the Hill District, has been charged with criminal homicide and a firearms violation. Ela Aydin, 18, of Oakdale, has been charged with hindering apprehension. Both are being held at the Allegheny County Jail.
The shooting happened after a verbal dispute between Wible and Mr. Coates, police said in a criminal complaint.
Surveillance footage showed Wible followed Mr. Coates to the alley before taking a “shooter’s stance” just outside the alley where Mr. Coates had gone, a criminal complaint said. Ms. Aydin was also seen driving a Blue BMW that she and Wible drove away in shortly after the shooting, police said.
Wible told police he went to Fort Duquesne Boulevard to confront Mr. Coates after Mr. Coates had allegedly called Ms. Aydin a “rat,” the criminal complaint said. An argument ensued, and that’s when Mr. Coates allegedly challenged Wible to a fight in the alley, the complaint said.
Wible told police he refused to fight Mr. Coates and instead told him, “If you go in the alley I’m gonna pop you,” the criminal complaint said. He also told police he knew Mr. Coates was unarmed but shared he knew Mr. Coates possessed firearms, the criminal complaint said.
Wible was not permitted to carry a firearm after pleading guilty to aggravated assault in 2019, police said.
Wible said he and Ms. Aydin then fled the scene in her BMW after he
shot Mr. Coates several times, and the two of them went back to his home in the Hill District.
He cleaned himself up before the two left again and headed to Penn Hills, the complaint said. He said Ms. Aydin thanked him for shooting Mr. Coates as the two left the scene of the shooting.
Ms. Aydin was driving and Wible was in the passenger seat when police on the South Side stopped their vehicle before they made it to Penn Hills, police said. Police had flagged the license plate, and they were taken to police headquarters for questioning.
During the police stop, Wible told police they could find the gun he used in the back seat underneath a pile of clothes, police said.
Ms. Aydin, in a separate interview with authorities, told police that she and Wible went to Fort Duquesne Boulevard to play basketball, the complaint said. She said at one point she heard gunshots, then ran back to her vehicle, the complaint said.
A preliminary hearing for both suspects is scheduled for Aug. 20 at city court, Downtown.