Father of man killed in Homestead triple shooting offers reward for info on killers
“I want justice.”
On a GoFundMe page, Jason Chavis demanded the assailants who shot and killed his son, Jason, in February be put behind bars — and he’s offering a $15,000 reward for anyone who knows their identity.
“The assailants that did it ... still walk the streets of our communities, still free ... to potentially kill again,” Mr. Chavis, of Johnstown, wrote on the page.
On Feb. 24, the 25-year-old was found shot in a vehicle along with an 18-year-old woman and a juvenile. The two adults died after being taken to the hospital.
No updates on the investigation have been released by investigators.
The elder Mr. Chavis is a former University of Pittsburgh football player who played as a linebacker in the 1990s, and earlier played for McKeesport Area High School.
In a photo, Mr. Chavis and his son are seen side by side at a football game, the junior Mr. Chavis wearing a McKeesport jersey with the number 52.
“He was the ball I wasn’t supposed to drop, so as a father, you immediately feel like you failed,” Mr. Chavis said to media. “You feel like you failed because you didn’t keep your kid safe.”
Mr. Chavis described his son as a “good young man,” with a promising future in the quality control field.
He started the GoFundMe to raise money to purchase billboards advertising the reward around Homestead. He’s so far raised $10,880 after asking for $20,000.
Mr. Chavis works as a general sales manager at WJAC-TV in Johnstown.
“If he came in the room, he was the stoic look and the stoic face, but when he smiled it was like ‘OK. The world is right,” Mr. Chavis told WJAC.
The Allegheny County Police Department put out a notice on Feb. 25 asking for assistance in the shooting.
Around 11:23 p.m. the night before, Homestead police discovered Mr. Chavis, Amari Mitchell, and a juvenile shot in a vehicle in the 200 block of East 16th Avenue.
The three were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Mr. Chavis was pronounced dead at the hospital, and Ms. Mitchell died several days later.
The 18-year-old Braddock resident graduated from Woodland Hills High School.
Ms. Mitchell’s family started a GoFundMe page to raise money for her memorial. That page raised $9,745 of its $20,000 goal so far.
“My baby girl fell victim to a fatal and violent crime, cutting her life short three months shy of her 19th birthday,” wrote Derek Scott, who started the fundraiser.
On March 1, a public service was held for Ms. Mitchell in Swissvale’s Memorial Park.
Allegheny County police say tips can be submitted anonymously at 1-833-ALLTIPS, or 1-833-255-8477.