2 dead, 12 wounded in weekend violence across Allegheny County

A violent night in Pittsburgh capped off a weekend of carnage across Allegheny County that left 2 people dead and 12 injured between Friday night and early Monday.

Stephone Drayton, 40, died around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, less than an hour after he and three others were shot on Pittsburgh’s North Side. On Tuesday morning, police announced that a teenager shot early Monday in the Hill District had died.

Mayor Ed Gainey, in a social media statement, invited residents to pray for the victims and reiterated his pledge to end violence in the city through his plan for peace.

In Pittsburgh, there has been an uptick in homicides compared to 2021, though non-fatal shootings remain lower than they were at this time last year.

As of late last week, there had been 42 homicides in the city in 2022 compared to 38 at the same point in 2021. The fatal shooting late Sunday night marks the 43rd this year. There have been 79 non-fatal shootings in that time, around 22% fewer than the 102 at this time last year.

In July, Pittsburgh saw four homicides and 11 non-fatal shootings.

A police spokeswoman said the bureau is still analyzing incidents from the weekend and could not say how many incidents there have been in the first week of August.

A ShotSpotter notification around 4:30 a.m. Saturday sent police to Formosa Way where they found a crime scene but no victims. Two men later turned up at a hospital with gunshots wounds: One man was in critical condition, while the other was stable.

A shooting late Saturday morning in McKeesport left a man in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. As 20-year-old Homestead man is charged in the shooting. Hours later, shortly before 8 p.m., a man was shot in the foot in Stowe. No arrests have been made.

Around 9:40 p.m. Saturday, four teenagers were shot and injured at the Orchard Park Housing Community, a county housing complex in Duquesne. Three 17-year-olds, including two boys and a girl, were all shot in the lower body. A 16-year-old boy had a graze wound to his head. Investigators said a group of teens were gathered when something prompted “an undetermined number” to open fire.

From Sunday night into Monday morning, six people were shot in Pittsburgh. One person died.

Gunfire erupted on Brighton Place in California-Kirkbride around 9:45 p.m. Medics transported three men, one of whom died at the hospital after being shot in the chest. A fourth man was grazed by a bullet.

Around the same time, police said someone pulled up next to a man on Jackson Street in Highland Park and began shooting, according to police. One man was shot in the thigh and ankle. Investigators say the shooting victim has been uncooperative with police.

In the Hill District, a juvenile was shot in the head around 2:45 a.m. The shooting happened near Van Braam Street between Fifth Avenue and Watson Street in the Bluff, not far from the border with Crawford-Roberts. The child, whose age was not provided by authorities, was in critical condition at the time.