De'Avry Thomas shooting leaves community in shock; activist calls for investment in Black community
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A family is desperately searching for answers as police work to track down a man who allegedly shot and killed 18-month-old De'Avry Thomas.
It happened in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh in the middle of the afternoon.
Now, community activists are saying more needs to be done to curb the violence.
Barbara Jean Johnson, Thomas' grandmother, fought back tears as she said this about the boy's killer: "I want him to get life without parole. I want him to suffer. You made my grandson suffer with that bullet you put in his head."
Thomas' family wants the men responsible for killing him held responsible, and doesn't want another family to feel the same, indescribable pain.
"He was a special child to all of us," Johnson said.
Pittsburgh police issued an arrest warrant for 23-year-old Markez Anger. He is the second suspect wanted in the case, following the arrest of Londell Falconer, the alleged driver in the shooting. Police picked him up Monday at Mercy Hospital, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound from a separate shooting earlier that morning.
Police said they saw Falconer and Anger on surveillance video speeding away from the shooting on 4th Avenue and Stanwix Street.
Witnesses said they saw the pair ditching their Jeep, license plates and a Red Bull in a trash can in Troy Hill.
Police said neither the child nor his mother were the intended targets, rather another person in the car.
Community leaders said they believe the shooting is bringing a renewed focus on the gun violence epidemic.
Local activist Brandi Fisher said she feels the community needs to invest more in the Black community before we'll see change.
"We don't see these happenings in Squirrel Hill," she said. "We don't see these happening in Mt. Lebanon. You can ask yourself why. And the reason is because their youth have a lot of opportunities. Their educational institutions are well invested in. All of that matters."
Fisher said she believes if we really want to solve this epidemic we can. She said it's a simple fix. We just have to have the will to want to do it.
"We have to change policy, we have to make sure we get investment in the communities and then we have to take it upon ourselves to put boots on the ground and go out and connect with the people we say we care about," she added.
Police urge anyone with information on Anger's whereabouts to help them in their investigation.
