Weekend Shooting Is McKeesport's 12th Homicide This Year
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MCKEESPORT (KDKA) -- A fatal shooting in McKeesport over the weekend is just the latest incident in what's becoming one of the most deadly years on record for the small town.
Twenty-eight-year-old Damien Ashley is a suspect in a record 12th homicide in the city of McKeesport in 2017. Over the weekend, police say Ashley was involved in a shootout with 28-year-old Wyatt Gaza on Jenny Lind Street.
Ashley suffered a gunshot wound while Gaza died at the hospital.
"I feel bad for the families and everything, but I don't see it stopping," McKeesport resident Alicia Williams said. "It just seems like it's getting worse."
"Violence. It's all about drugs and money," McKeesport resident Alyssa Shemasek said.
Last month, Melodie Robb and Kimberly Lesko were shot and killed in their home on Gross Alley in an apparent robbery attempt. According to the police report, the suspect, Kylee Lankford, told a witness he needed money and intended to rob someone.
"They're truly innocent victims in this. They were targeted for a robbery and for whatever reason, the young man decided to shoot them," Allegheny County Police Lt. Andrew Schurman said
"It's sad. It's scary. It's just ridiculous, you know," Rev. Richard Truss of the Zion Baptist Church said. "'Senseless' is the word we hear over and over again.
Truss speaks often about the record number of homicides from the pulpit at Zion Baptist Church. Jesi Jefferson, 21, was the first homicide victim back in January. Since then, there's been one and sometimes two homicides a month in McKeesport.
"We're asking people to just trust God and believe that he's going to turn this around, one person at a time," Truss said.
Many of these homicides are still unsolved, and anyone with information is asked to call McKeesport Police or Allegheny County homicide detectives.
