Brother Of Boy Killed By Homeless Man Accused In Attack
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The brother of a boy who was mutilated and murdered by a homeless man more than 10 years ago is accused of attacking the homeless.
Police say the attacks happened underneath the railroad tracks just off Sandusky Street on the North Side in the same neighborhood where the suspect's brother was killed nearly 12 years ago.
"There were multiple victims who had been peppered literally with these paintball devices," Pittsburgh Police Commander RaShall Brackney said. "As you know, they're very painful. They cause bruising, they cause bleeding, they have a lot of CO2 power behind them."
Police believe the shots were fired from track level toward the homeless below. They've charged Joseph Drake as one of the shooters. He has a tattoo that reads "Rest in peace Scott."
Scott was his older brother who was mutilated and killed when Joseph was about 10.
Drake family members had plenty of angry words for Joseph Cornelius, a homeless man convicted in the boy's death. He claimed he didn't do it. He's serving a life sentence.
Police say no one has the right to target a class of innocent people for revenge.
"There's no shelter, there's no food, there's no clothing, medical attention," Commander Brackney said. "They have a lot of other issues including possibilities of mental health and then they're preyed upon by someone who believes they have rightful vengeance to do so."
Drake faces a hearing on charges of aggravated assault at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
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