Residents, local leaders react to violent weekend in Allegheny County

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Ring surveillance footage captured the chaotic scene when gun violence broke out in a Duquesne neighborhood. Teens went running for refuge and in the video you can hear multiple gunshots and screaming following the gunfire.

According to neighbors, dozens of teens had been playing on a nearby field just before 10 p.m. on Saturday.

Police say when they arrived at Orchard Place Housing Community in Duquesne they found four teens with gunshot wounds. All were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition.

But that was not the only quadruple shooting that happened over the weekend. 24 hours later on Sunday in the city’s North Side, four more people were shot just before 10 p.m., this time killing one of the victims, 40-year-old Stephone Drayton.

“I woke up and ran to the back of my house into the basement because I didn’t want to catch a stray bullet,” said Foo Conner, a nearby neighbor who was home when the shooting happened.

Foo Conner has lived on the North Side for nearly a decade and says his community hasn’t seen violence like this in a long time – and he doesn’t want it to return.

“Now what we are seeing is like the emergence of what it was before, and I hope it doesn’t go there,” said Conner.

Police say there were a total of seven shootings across the county in McKeesport, Duquesne, Homewood, Stowe, Highland Park, Uptown, and in the city’s North Side that injured 13 and killed one. Officials called it a tragic weekend.

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“There are families that are being destroyed. They’re losing children, they’re losing loved ones because we’re not doing anything at the state level to help,” said State Representative Emily Kinkead, who represents the 20th District including the North Side.

One arrest was made in connection to the McKeesport shooting.

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On Monday, Pittsburgh’s mayor asked anyone with information regarding the other cases to come forward and contact the police.

In a statement, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said:

“Today we wake to the news of another night filled with gun violence across Pittsburgh. I invite our entire city to join me in praying for the victims and their families. My administration is committed to our public health-based approach to ending gun violence, and as such we will convene our rapid response teams to make sure we are caring for the victims’ families and ensuring they have access to the support and resources they need. [We will work] to contain future harm and begin the long-term work of solving the root cause so we can attempt to stop more violence from happening in our city. We will do all that we can to find those responsible for these acts. I encourage you, if you know something or saw something, please don’t hesitate to share what you know. You can call the tip line at 412-323-7800 if you have any information.”

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