Funeral shooting in Brighton Heights reflects cycle of violence and spiral of pain, advocates and officials say

Maria Montaño, press secretary for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, places her hand on the back of Brenda Gregg, pastor at Destiny of Faith Church along Brighton Road, while Gregg addresses the media on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, by her church. Gregg told the media that the church’s planned Halloween activities would go on, despite the multiple-person shooting that took place outside the church earlier that day during a funeral there. At back, City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey looks on. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

Six people were in stable condition following the shooting outside of the funeral of a 20-year-old man who died in a triple-fatal shootout less than two weeks prior.

 

by Eric JankiewiczAmelia WingerStephanie Strasburg and Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource

A funeral for a recent gunshot victim was interrupted by an unknown shooter or shooters in Brighton Heights, in an incident that some longtime observers of violence interpreted as retaliation, but also as a reflection of deep and spiraling trauma in some city neighborhoods. 

Six people were injured in the Friday shooting outside the Destiny of Faith Church on Brighton Street. Around noon, ShotSpotter alerted police that five gunshots were heard in the Brighton Heights area. Another 15 gun rounds were heard immediately after, said Pittsburgh Police Major Crimes Commander Richard Ford. 

The funeral ceremony was being held for John James Hornezes, Jr., who was one of three killed in a shooting on Pittsburgh’s North Side on Oct. 15. 

All six victims were reported in stable condition on Friday afternoon, Ford said. Police said they don’t have suspects and that they are investigating if Friday’s shooting is connected to the Oct.15 shooting. They believe multiple shooters were involved in today’s violence and that it was a targeted shooting.

“I never could have imagined it, that we would shoot up holy ground,” Mayor Ed Gainey said at a 3:30 p.m. press conference. 

Mayor Ed Gainey speaks to media assembled at the scene of a multiple shooting outside of a funeral the Destiny of Faith Church on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, at the intersection of Benton Avenue and Brighton Road in Brighton Heights. The mayor pleaded with those who are hurt by the day's events, which include six people being shot at the funeral, to not retaliate tonight and to share with authorities what they know about the incident. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Mayor Ed Gainey speaks to media assembled at the scene of a multiple shooting outside of a funeral the Destiny of Faith Church on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, at the intersection of Benton Avenue and Brighton Road in Brighton Heights. The mayor pleaded with those who are hurt by the day’s events, which include six people being shot at the funeral, to not retaliate tonight and to share with authorities what they know about the incident. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)

 

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