2 teens charged in shooting outside Westinghouse

Two teens were charged in connection with a February shooting at Westinghouse Academy that injured four students as classes at the Homewood school let out for the day, Pittsburgh police said Thursday.

James Pritchard, 17, and a 14year-old boy were charged in late September. James, who is being charged as an adult, was taken into custody earlier this month after he was arrested in an unrelated incident in North Versailles.

The 14-year-old, who is charged as a juvenile, was arrested the same day when he appeared in juvenile court for an unrelated case, Chief Larry Scirotto said.

Chief Scirotto said both teens faced attempted homicide charges, although court records show those charges were withdrawn in James’ case at a preliminary hearing Wednesday, a day before police announced the arrests.

A police spokeswoman said the attempted homicide charges remain in the case against the younger teen.

The Feb. 14 shooting happened just as school was letting out for the day. Three teenage boys and a teenage girl were injured in the gunfire, although all were said at the time to have non-life-threatening injuries.

At least 10 shots were fired. According to the criminal complaint filed against James, cameras from the school and school buses captured the lead-up to the shooting and the shooting itself.

In all of the footage, James is seen wearing a black hoodie with a small white Nike logo on the left side of the chest. He is with two other males who police do not identify in the complaint.

Cameras show that James — who was identified in the footage by two witnesses and a police sergeant who had “extensive previous experience” with the teen — approached the school shortly after 2 p.m.

James was carrying Valentine’s Day balloons that he gave to an unidentified teenage girl near Monticello Street, according to the complaint.

As he was giving her the balloons, he and the two other males looked down Monticello toward the school and then abruptly started in that direction.

The cameras capture James and the other two males heading toward the school on North Murtland from Monticello, according to the complaint. They also showed the gunfire at around 2:20 p.m., including “students fleeing the area in mass panic in all directions.”

Investigators ultimately recovered more than a dozen bullet fragments and casings from the scene, police said.

Six months later in August, James tried to flee from officers pursing him in a stolen Kia Sorento on the city’s South Side, according to the complaint. He allegedly ditched the car and tried to run, but he was ultimately taken into custody. Officers recovered a Glock 17 from the ground near the driver’s side door of the stolen Kia plus myriad magazines and live rounds.

Investigators said the Glock 17 found with the stolen Kia was a match to the shell casings recovered outside Westinghouse.

Four attempted homicide charges against James were withdrawn during an Oct. 18 preliminary hearing. He waived the rest of the charges — eight counts of aggravated assault, five counts of reckless endangerment, conspiracy and illegal possession of a firearm. Formal arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 14.

Last month, Pittsburgh police revealed that a potential shooting at the school had been thwarted in mid-September.

In that Sept. 15 incident, a parent and school employee spotted three boys wearing ski masks circling the school grounds in a Jeep Cherokee.

The SUV was ultimately discovered to be stolen. Inside the car, police found a gun and “incendiary devices” often used to torch stolen cars. Police also recovered a gun. Two of the boys — a 12-year-old and 13-year-old — were charged as juveniles and released to their parents. A 16-year-old who was in the Jeep was not charged.