Six people were injured in a shooting outside of a Pittsburgh church where a funeral was being held for a 20-year-old man who had recently been shot and killed, Pittsburgh Police Commander Richard Ford said. Two people, including one teenager, have been charged with attempted murder in connection with Friday’s shooting, authorities announced Saturday.
All six of the victims were in stable condition after the attack that Ford called a “targeted shooting.”
Ford initially reported that six people were shot. However, the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department later clarified that only five people suffered gunshot wounds, and the sixth person was wounded while trying to escape the scene.
Just after 12 p.m. Friday, police received a ShotSpotter tip that five shots were fired in the area of the Destiny of Faith Church, Ford said. Another alert came in shortly after about an additional 15 shots fired.
Police responded to the church, where a funeral was ongoing for John Hornezes, who was one of the three killed in a shooting in the city on Oct. 15, according to CBS Pittsburgh. The Friday shooting happened outside of the church, Ford said.
Four victims self-transported to the hospital, according to Ford. One person was transported from the scene in critical condition. A sixth victim had left the scene and was then transported to the hospital. One victim was taken to Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital while the others went to Allegheny General Hospital, Ford said. Their ages were not released.
The victim who was in critical condition was upgraded to stable condition, police said later Friday afternoon.
Police do not yet have a motive for the shooting, but Ford said “there’s reason to believe there was obviously specific people targeted.”
Ford added that there were “multiple” suspects and that police had “good video” of the incident.
Late Friday night, Pittsburgh Public Safety reported that two people of interest had been detained. On Saturday, the department announced that 19-year-old Shawn Davis and a 16-year-old boy had been arrested in connection with the shooting on charges of criminal attempted homicide, criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault and firearms charges.
“This is probably, in my pastoral ministry that I have been doing over 30 years, this has been one of the most devastating days of my life, I would say,” Rev. Brenda Gregg, the pastor at the Destiny of Faith Church, said during a Friday afternoon press conference.
The investigation is ongoing.
