Investigation Continues After Woman Critically Injured In Homewood Gunfight
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – An 18-year-old woman is in critical condition, with a gunshot wound to the neck.
She was shot Friday night, near Kelly and Bennett streets in Homewood.
Police say shots were fired into her SUV during a running gun battle with another vehicle.
Neighbor Wynona Hawkins says she heard more than 30 gunshots.
"It's the total ignorance and we need some drastic measures to correct this behavior out here in Homewood," said Hawkins.
Police say the woman got out of her vehicle and collapsed – and another passenger ran away on foot.
The driver of the other car got away.
Meanwhile, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder downtown, near the intersection of Strawberry Way and William Penn Plaza. He was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital.
Councilman Ricky Burgess says the city can take some immediate measures to reduce gun violence.
"We have to approve the shot spotter and camera system we approved a year ago for the East End," he said. "In addition to that, we have to retool, and re-purpose the Pittsburgh Pink Initiative, to reduce crime."
Burgess represents part of the East End, where many of the city's 44 homicides this year have occurred. The city plans to put more foot patrols in Homewood and other neighborhoods hit by violence. But, he says, bad things will continue to happen in areas with a high concentration of poverty.
"That's what you have now, no long-term solution," he said. "We need to invest in these communities, rebuild these communities, give these people jobs and social services, to take care of their social problems."
Burgess, who is also a Baptist minister, says the only other solution to the violence is prayer.
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