1 dead, another recovering after overnight shooting in Lawrenceville
One person is dead and another is recovering following a shooting in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood overnight.
Police say they were called to Butler Street just after 3:00 a.m., but found no victims. A short time later, two men showed up at a nearby hospital by private transport, one with a gunshot wound to the torso and another with a gunshot wound to the leg.
The victim who was shot in the torso later died at the hospital. He was later identified as Davon Smith.
Detectives on Saturday evening arrested Randell Tate, 22, of Pittsburgh, in connection with the incident. He has been charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault.
According to police, Tate was working the night shift at the Sunoco before two men came in to confront him for an apology. After a conversation, Tate says he felt threatened as those two men moved in on him, leading to the incident.
According to the criminal complaint, surveillance video shows the men propping open a secured door to the cashiers' station, cornering Tate inside.
That's when he pulled a pistol from his waistband and started shooting.
Tate says when they entered the door, one victim stated, "What if I kill you?"
"I'm not sure what the lock or energy at the gas station is, but I hope it doesn't happen again," resident Jake Kline said.
The victims tried to run, but Tate kept firing.
"Lawrenceville is known as one of the safer neighborhoods in Pittsburgh. A lot of young people, people starting families, so it's really concerning to know this is happening in your backyard, basically," resident Emily Natoli said.
According to Tate, he claimed he felt threatened, saying the men were retaliating over a past incident involving his sister. He told police he saw one of them signaling the other and thought he might attack.
"Two of these events in such short periods of time from one another. It just doesn't register, it's just awful," Kline said.
Tate is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.