Father of women killed in 2021 shooting calls for homicides to stop
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — It has been nearly a year since Robert Washington lost his daughter, 27-year-old Ebony McCary.
She was shot and killed on Aug. 2, 2021, on Blackadore Avenue in Homewood. She left behind three little girls.
"To me, it's not just about my daughter. It's about all these other men and women that are being murdered in the city of Pittsburgh and nobody's saying nothing," Washington said.
Pittsburgh Bureau of Police invited Washington to speak at Thursday's weekly press briefing to inform the community of the status of ongoing police investigations. Washington said he is like other parents who have had to bury their children: He needs closure.
"There's a lot of parents in Pittsburgh just like me," he said. "I'm just asking all the real men and women to take control and take control of the neighborhoods."
Pittsburgh police detectives highlighted the unsolved homicide during the briefing. There have been 40 homicides in the city of Pittsburgh so far this year.
Police officials said not only are homicides up 21 percent this year compared to last year but only 32 percent of the cases this year have been cleared. Police said they need witnesses willing to testify.
"Anonymous information is great, however, we need people to stand up and take their neighborhood back and be willing to come to court," detective Bobby Shaw said. "It's a scary thought, but we do have programs in place to keep people safe."
Meanwhile, police revealed additional information about a shooting earlier this week that injured a 10-year-old boy. Taevon Lane was shot in the arm while playing video games inside a home on Zephyr Avenue. Police say they have surveillance video of the shooting that happened outside the home.
"We have two groups of people that were firing upon each other," said Commander Richard Ford, a commander with the Major Crimes Division. "In the video, you have five juveniles, and not one, not two, not three, not four but all five produced firearms and can be seen in the video firing in the direction of the other group."
Ford said there are more young people with guns who are not afraid to fire them. Meanwhile, Washington said he just wants the community to work together.
"There's no other remedy but for it to stop," he said.
