McKees Rocks Councilman Injured When Bullets Hit His Home
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MCKEES ROCKS (KDKA) -- A McKees Rocks councilman says he and his sister are lucky to be alive after shots rang out in their neighborhood Thursday morning and bullets ended up in their home.
Officers were sent to Bouquet Street near Island Avenue around 11:30 a.m. for a report of a drive-by shooting.
Councilman Joe Mixter, who lives two houses away from the scene of the shooting, said he heard the gunfire as he was getting ready to start his day.
He said he was about to get in the shower when at least two bullets hit his home, one into the bedroom and the other coming through the bathroom wall. It hit the ceramic tile on the bathroom wall and set shards flying.
The councilman was struck by those shards and suffered some cuts to his back.
But Mixter told KDKA's Kym Gable he feels lucky to be alive.
"I was just ready to get in the shower, and I heard these shots, and I thought something fell off my wall, and then I looked around," said Mixter. "The bullet come through the house and into the shower where I was ready to get in, and it caught the ceramic on my wall and it busted and it shattered. Cut my back a little bit."
Mixter's sister, Barb, also lives in the home. She was not hurt.
She declined an on-camera interview, but told KDKA she found one of the bullets behind their toilet. She had planned to hand it over to police.
"Where she sits at, it would have struck her," said Mixter.
Police later found the casings outside.
Meanwhile, when officers arrived at the scene of the shooting, they found ballistic evidence in the area but no victim. Witnesses told officers they saw a red SUV speeding away from the area at the time of the shooting.
Around the same time, a man showed up at a local hospital suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Police say the victim arrived in a red Dodge Durango SUV. They believe the vehicle is connected to the Bouquet Street shooting.
Two juveniles were also in the SUV when the victim arrived at the hospital. Allegheny County Police detained them both for questioning in connection with the crime.
No information is being released on the gunshot victim.
Mixter and his sister are now pushing to get surveillance cameras installed in their neighborhood.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Tipline at 1-833-255-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.