PITTSBURGH — Neighbors throughout Brighton Heights held a community meeting Tuesday night to discuss how to end violence in their neighborhood.
There was a deadly shooting over the weekend, just a few hundred feet from the school, and residents said they want to know what’s being done to keep their children safe.
“It’s really scary because I have two grandchildren that live within walking distance,” said Mary Anne Kaylor. “I like to be able to walk the neighborhood, if I need to go to the drug store or to church. I want to feel comfortable."
City Councilwoman Darlene Harris and Pittsburgh police attended the meeting at St. Cyril’s Church.
“This has not been the first shooting. There was another shooting and my understanding is there are other things that have been happening, too,” Harris said.
The community meeting was held at St. Cyril of Alexandria Church and the discussion became heated at times.
“For me, it's not a question of where. It's a question of when my family's going to be a victim,” resident Giuseppe Rosselli said.
Many neighbors blamed Zangaro's bar for attracting the violence.
"In the last few years, the trouble that bar has brought with their lackadaisical times of closing, where they don't close until after 3 in the morning, has brought elements into the neighborhood that we don't want,” resident Krystal Danylo said.
The owners of the bar were at the meeting and acknowledged the concerns.
"We've asked them, different ways, you know, cleaning up. You know what we were told? I have the screen shots: 'Move!' I've been here 31 years. I'm not going anywhere,” Danylo said.
Harris said she hopes a change is on the way for the neighborhood.
"I think they heard loud and clear how the community feels right now, and if something doesn’t stop, I don't think the bar will be there much longer,” she said.