Family Devastated By Shooting Death Of Uniontown Girl, 17

UNIONTOWN, Pa.,None — Police said a teenage boy is in custody after fatally shooting a 17-year-old girl in Uniontown.

Ramal Chisler, 16, was arraigned Friday morning in the shooting death of Tiffany Moody. He is charged as an adult with homicide.

Police in Uniontown said Chisler, accompanied by his grandmother, turned himself in shortly after the shooting Thursday afternoon in the Pershing Court housing project.

Police said Chisler and Moody had been in a relationship, but no motive has been determined. Chisler told them that the shooting was accidental.

Moody's mother and grandmother told Channel 11 News her father had a heart attack Thursday night when he found out what happened.

The grandmother also said the girl might have been pregnant.

"Her life was taken because of a 16-year-old punk, that's exactly what he was, a 16-year-old punk. Why did he have access to a gun, which he should have never had?," said Moody's grandmother Mary Ann Flowers.

"I'm just lost without her and I want her soul to rest in peace," said Moody's sister Sally Moore. "I'm just gone without Tiff."

Moody's family members said she just obtained her GED and had plans to attend a local college to become at medical technician.

"There are just a few kids who try to do something good with their lives around here and she was one of them. Now she's gone," said Moody's brother Bill Kensley.

According to the criminal complaint, Chisler was hanging out at his uncle's apartment and saw Moody outside, so he yelled for her to come hang out. That's when he remembered there was a gun that he was holding for someone on the couch, the complaint said.

Chisler said he knew Moody didn't like guns, so he was going to take it apart so she didn't see it. But instead, the gun went off when Moody came in the back door, striking her in the abdomen, the complaint said.

Chisler carried her to a friend's house and then fled, police said. The girl later died at a hospital.

He is being held without bail in Fayette County Jail. A preliminary hearing for Chisler is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Chisler, a suspected member of the "Killa Squad" gang, was wanted in connection with a gang-related attack in May.

During that attack, police said a group of teens used knives and pipes to attack three other teenagers.

Previous Stories: June 16, 2010: Suspected 'Killa Squad' Gang Member's Knife Fight Hearing Postponed

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