Shooting in Pittsburgh's Market Square kills 19-year-old

A 19-year-old died after he was shot in Downtown Pittsburgh's Market Square on Monday night, officials said. 

Terryll Little of Duquesne was fatally shot in Market Square after getting into an altercation with someone he knew, investigators said on Tuesday. The deadly shooting occurred less than three weeks after the city reopened Market Square with promises of tighter security and an increased police presence.

Market Square, Pittsburgh shooting

Pittsburgh Public Safety said officers from the Downtown Public Safety Center were called to Market Square just after 11 p.m. on Monday in response to reports of shots fired. When officers responded to the scene, they found Little, who had been shot twice in the chest, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said.

Officials said the 19-year-old was treated at the scene by officers before medics took him to the hospital in critical condition. The young man was taken into emergency surgery upon arrival at the hospital, but he died Tuesday morning, officials said. 

No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, Pittsburgh Public Safety said. It was not immediately clear if there were any suspects. 

The shooting comes less than three weeks after the city reopened Market Square with increased police presence and a new rule restricting juveniles under 18 from being in the square without an adult on Thursday through Sunday nights. There was also a fatal shooting in the city's East Hills on Monday night.

In an interview on Tuesday, Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O'Connor said the violence stretching across the city is troubling.

"The two shootings that occurred last night," he said, "one is too many."

And for many who work, visit, and spend time in Downtown Pittsburgh, the promise of a stronger police presence and tighter rules following earlier disturbances is now being tested.

"They've done so good here, and all this has to happen," Pittsburgher David Keefer said. "It shouldn't happen like that."

Public safety forum

Police, city officials and community advocates held a public safety forum on Tuesday night at Point Park University. They discussed violence and how it is impacting young people, including the new under-18 policy in Market Square.

"The problem isn't with the kids in the space," said Sheldon Williams, Pittsburgh Public Safety's director. "The problem is with the behavior of the people that are in the space. And if it was kids, adults, it wouldn't matter."

Cornell Jones, a group violence intervention specialist, said kids are doing things because they want attention. He said they are in survival mode and need better guidance.

"The thing that has to happen before is the village has to come together," he said. 

Jason Lando, chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, said the new under-18 policy is a "stop-gap measure." 

"Our officers were getting called on a daily basis to Market Square for incidents that sometimes, and often, resulted in violence," he said. "As the police chief, we have to do something." 

Rise Up 365 CEO Brandi Fisher said she doesn't believe the policy is the best way to respond to kids hanging out downtown. She said kids need open spaces instead of being pushed out. The youth advocacy group hosted Tuesday's forum.