News

Man charged in fatal shooting on street within Beaver Falls housing community

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — A man has been charged in the Friday night shooting death of another man on a street within a housing community in Beaver Falls, the Beaver County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

Justin Simmons, 25, was shot in the chest shortly before 10:30 p.m. Friday in the 400 block of 44th Street in Morado Dwellings. Police said Simmons had already died by the time officers arrived.

Simmons’ sister, Yolanda Hunter, said her brother was visiting Morado Dwellings with a friend and was shot as he turned a corner.

“It doesn’t seem real. I can’t imagine not seeing him. I can’t imagine not hearing his voice anymore,” Hunter said.

Within minutes of the shooting, 24-year-old Tyrone Savage Jr. was found near a steel mill in the area of Morado Dwellings, according to the district attorney’s office. At least one witness identified him as the shooter.

While authorities investigated the deadly shooting, Savage was placed in the Beaver County Jail on an unrelated, outstanding aggravated assault charge, the district attorney’s office said.

During the course of the homicide investigation, security footage was obtained that showed Savage fleeing the scene of the shooting to a steel mill cooling pond, the district attorney’s office said. His pants and shirt were found along the route he took, and a gun, the ammunition from which matched ammunition from the shooting scene, was located in the pond.

“I pray for my brother and I pray for everyone in this community. Black-on-black crime is not right and we all need to get involved,” Hunter said. “I understand all the families involved in this shooting and others in our county are hurting, but we need justice for my brother.”

Savage was charged Monday night with first-degree murder. He remains in the Beaver County Jail, held without the possibility of posting bail.

Channel 11’s Amy Marcinkiewicz reported that Savage’s criminal history includes being acquitted of murder in April 2015. The aggravated assault charge that he was placed in jail on before he was charged in connection with Simmons’ death stems from May 2016, when police say he shot at a man in a car after an argument.

Anyone with information about Friday’s shooting is asked to call the Beaver Falls Police Department at 724-847-2821 or Beaver County detectives at 724-773-8563.