PITTSBURGH — People inside Destiny of Faith Church in Brighton Heights say they hit the floor and hid under pews while a barrage of gunfire erupted outside. It was just after noon on Friday, and a funeral service was underway for 20-year-old John Hornezes Junior, who died on the North Side in a triple shooting Oct. 17.
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Six people were injured in the incident.
Families including young children and the elderly hit the ground or hid under pews. In a livestream of the funeral service, you can hear dozens of rounds fired. People inside tell us they heard 40, 50, even 60 or more shots.
“Whoever did (this), I’m going to tell you something. God is going to have his way with you,” a friend of Hornezes tells Channel 11. “At a funeral? This is God’s house. Nothing is sacred that you would come in here and blast it up and shoot outside, it makes no sense.”
People saying their final goodbyes to Hornezes tell Channel 11 some people raised concerns about men in ski masks coming and going toward the start of the service, and heard chatter about something about to happen. The church’s administrator says training from Pittsburgh police and the police chief on active shooter situations in churches was put to the test and it worked.
“We learned how to secure the building, which we did.” Rhonda Jennings said. “We secured (it) so nobody would go out the front. Our trustees, we did everything right. There’s nothing else we could have done. It’s just a travesty.”
Outside, a hearse was surrounded by police tape, and evidence markers sat in the exact spot where dozens of rounds were fired. Mayor Ed Gainey and community members all came together to say they’ve had enough.
“This isn’t the way, this isn’t the way. This is out of hand and it’s constantly going on,” a community member tells Channel 11.
There are city cameras at the intersection of Benton Avenue and Brighton Road, and cameras from businesses nearby. Those businesses tell us they’ve handed their footage over to police who are trying to track down who pulled the trigger at the funeral.
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