Man and teenager charged after shooting in Pittsburgh-area church parking lot
A Canonsburg man and a Washington County high school student are facing attempted homicide charges in connection with a shooting in Fayette County in February.
Connellsville police have charged 21-year-old Gavin Kover and 17-year-old Kaden Wright with attempted homicide. Police said that while Wright is a juvenile, he is being charged as an adult.
The incident started when police said a group of people met in the Otterbein United Methodist Church parking lot on Lincoln Avenue on Feb. 9. According to police paperwork, the victims had been in communication with Wright via Snapchat and arranged to exchange $800 for four guns.
Police said when the victims arrived in the parking lot, Kover got in the backseat of their vehicle while a group of others remained standing outside their car.
The victims reported to police that Kover asked "to see the bread" and they handed the suspects $400 before asking to see the guns.
One of the suspects handed one of the victims a bag that "did not add up to the weight of the four guns," according to police paperwork. That's when police say Kover looked out the window and told one of the men outside that he was "gonna have to use the 9."
"The person inside the vehicle turned to the other individuals and kind of initiated an attempted robbery, and what turned into an attempted homicide," said Connellsville Police Sergeant Bryan Kendi.
The victims reported to police that they locked the car doors and tried to drive away when shots were fired.
"The plan was to rob them. There wasn't even an exchange that could have taken place," Kendi said. "When the robbery took place, the shots were fired, the victims, quite obviously, began to flee the scene. That caught Kaden within the back seat of that vehicle, and he ended up kicking the window out to escape from the victims."
One of the victims was shot in the head and rushed to a local hospital. Police said he is expected to survive.
Police said through a collaboration with local law enforcement, they were able to identify and charge Kover and Wright.
According to police paperwork, the Charleroi Regional Police Department provided a picture of Wright entering the Charleroi Area High School on Feb. 9 in the same clothes he was wearing in surveillance video during the shooting incident.
According to police paperwork, Wright told the victims earlier in the day that he was currently in school and that the deal would happen later in Connellsville.
Wright was arrested and charged on Tuesday night and is currently in the Fayette County Jail. Kover was arrested and charged on Monday.
Connellsville police are now asking all those involved in the exchange to come forward.
"They know who they are. We're hoping they'll come forward and speak to us and explain why they were near the scene on camera, and maybe there's a plausible explanation for that. Otherwise, yes, further charges will be filed," Kendi said.
