Pittsburgh Police are still seeking the suspect who shot and killed a 14-year-old boy while he was outside at an East Hills housing complex in the early hours of May 17.
According to many reports, Kelvin Lovelace, of Wilkinsburg, was attending a party at the complex on Wilner Drive when, after midnight, a vehicle drove up and fired shots into a large crowd. Shots were fired back, causing an exchange and Lovelace was hit. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital where he died shortly after.
City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety Information Officer Sonya Toler said in a release that a crowd of approximately 200 people were gathered outside at the time of the shooting and that several Pittsburgh police zones and nearby departments were called to assist with crowd control.
No one has been charged and no persons of interests have been named. As of days later, Toler said no further details are still available.
A memorial for Lovelace has been assembled at the scene where he was shot, along with the creation of a GoFundMe account with the name Justice for Kelvin “Fatman” Lovelace by Tiara Nicholson, who identifies herself as Lovelace’s cousin. “Young man at the age of 14 got gunned down at a party for teenagers. Please help my family bury my little cousin. Any donation is appreciated!!! KELVIN ‘FATMAN’ LOVELACE,” the plea read.
As of noon on May 19, in just two days, 167 people have donated more than $6,500.
The fatal shooting of Lovelace is just one of many shootings that took place in the city over the weekend.
On the late evening of May 15 authorities responded to a call of a male shot in the 7100 block of Idlewild Street in Homewood. There they found 32-year-old Mikal Francis, of Newark, N.J., with a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian, but later died. No one has yet to be charged with his homicide.
Then on the afternoon of May 17, hours after Lovelace’s death, officers were called to the 400 block of Chatauqua Street in the Perry South neighborhood of Pittsburgh where 20-30 shots had reportedly been fired. According to a release from Toler, during an investigation, police found a parked Chevy Impala with three bullet holes and determined that the original scene had taken place in the 200 block of Cutler Street.
Also hours later, at approximately 6 p.m., a male was shot twice during a gunfire exchange on the ramp on California Avenue leading to the Ohio River Boulevard. He was taken on his own to a local hospital for treatment.
It is unknown if these two incidents are related.
(Anyone with information in the death of Lovelace or Francis is asked to call the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Homicide Squad at 412-323-7161.)
