Anti-violence coalition calls for peace, prayer following deadly shooting of teen in Mount Oliver

MOUNT OLIVER, Pa. — People came together at the Lighthouse Cathedral Tuesday night in mourning after a teenage boy was shot and killed over the weekend.

They came from all different neighborhoods to bring comfort and hope to one another.

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“It’s sad that we’re still here and another 17-year-old has been killed,” said Geraldine Massey.

Pittsburgh Police said Andrew Smith was brutally gunned down Sunday night on Brownsville Road in Mount Oliver.

“He didn’t know what life was,” Massey said. “Andrew deserved a life and my sons deserved a life.”

Massey didn’t know Smith, but as a mother, can relate to the pain. She said her two sons were also killed in senseless shootings 45 days apart nearly 30 years ago. Her oldest son, Omar Massey Wideman, was 22 years old when he was shot and killed during a home invasion. She said her youngest son, Gerald Massey, was murdered on a house porch during a party.

As a family therapist with the Center for Victims, Massey now helps other mothers cope with the pain.

“This kind of stuff doesn’t go away,” she said. “You have to learn to live with it.”

Rev. Eileen Smith is the executive director of the South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace (SPCP). She brought everyone together Tuesday for what she calls an emergency rally to stop the violence.

“We’re tired of it,” Smith said. “We’re tired of it. We’re sad. We’re grief-stricken. We grieve with all of the family members.”

Rev. Smith said they have mentors on the streets and outreach workers. but nothing will change unless the community comes together and offers hope.

“We’re doing mediations; we’re doing violence interruption; we’re doing outreach work,” she said. “We can’t do anything at all without prayer.”

Rev. Smith told Channel 11 that Smith just graduated from Grace Christian Academy.

Meantime, police are still investigating the shooting. No arrests have been made.

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