Teen charged in Kennywood shooting; police believe violence linked to ongoing Mon Valley feud

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in connection with a Sept. 24 shooting at Kennywood Park that authorities on Thursday linked to an ongoing feud between teenagers in the Mon Valley.

Darryl Pirl of West Mifflin, one of three people injured during the shooting, was arrested without incident Thursday morning. Allegheny County Police said they are looking for a second shooter.

Pirl is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a minor and recklessly endangering another person.

Police said an altercation between two groups of juveniles led to a 39-year-old man and another 15-year-old boy being shot in the leg and Pirl suffering a grazing wound. A gun found near the shooting scene had been reported stolen from a vehicle in Columbus, Ohio, about a year ago, police said.

The Allegheny County Crime Lab determined that gun was one of the weapons used in the shootings, Lt. Venerando Costa said.

Allegheny County Police Superintendent Christopher Kearns said police are still investigating. He said investigators are looking for a second shooter because evidence shows two guns were fired at the amusement park that night. The second shooter is “most likely” a juvenile, he said.

It remains unclear how the weapons used in the shootings got into the park, Kearns said.

We are thankful for the efforts of the Allegheny County and West Mifflin Police Departments to make an arrest and begin holding those responsible accountable. We will continue supporting their investigation.

— Kennywood (@Kenny_Kangaroo) October 6, 2022

Kearns urged anyone with information about the incident or the second shooter to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.

“If they saw anything, if they have any video, if they have any information, we ask that they give us a call,” he said.

Pirl’s arrest was made based on physical evidence recovered from the scene, Kearns said.

“With his involvement in terms of his being wounded, obviously we were looking to see what his involvement was,” he said, explaining detectives spoke with him at the hospital.

He had left the scene after being wounded and arrived at the hospital in a private vehicle, Kearns said.

Although there are cameras throughout Kennywood, Kearns said, none of them offered police a view of the shooting scene.

Police are continuing to investigate the nature of what Kearns described as an “ongoing feud between a group of teenagers in the Mon Valley,” which officials believe is connected to the Kennywood shooting and a spate of recent violence. Kearns said police are investigating whether the other victims from the shooting at Kennywood are part of that feud, and what role Pirl played in it.

Police believe a feud between teenagers from Homestead and the city of Duquesne is linked to the Kennywood shooting and 55 other calls police have responded to since June 1.

Police believe the feud was related to a June 4 shooting in which two people uninvolved in the feud were wounded outside of a graduation party on West 12th Street in Homewood. Investigators also have linked the feud to an August incident in which seven vehicles were shot in Duquesne, another August shooting that saw four youths wounded in Duquesne and an incident last month in which a 14-year-old was shot and killed inside a car in Duquesne.

Allegheny County PD announced they have arrested the 15-year-old boy who suffered a grazing wound during the Kennywood shooting. He will be tried as an adult.

— Julia Felton (@JuliaFelton16) October 6, 2022

The park shooting occurred on opening night of Kennywood’s Phantom Fall Fest, a special season on weekends throughout October.

More on the shooting at Kennywood:

• Kennywood reopens with new security measures in place after triple shooting
• Kennywood to add chaperone policy, security protocols after shooting
• 'It happened so quick,' Kennywood shooting victim says in TV interview
• Kennywood shooting puts spotlight on park security, metal detectors
• Gun found near Kennywood shootings stolen from Ohio vehicle, police say
• Fight between juveniles led to shootings inside Kennywood Park, police say