Gainey attends Brighton Heights church during funeral shooting, two arrested

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey spoke to members of the Brighton Heights community Saturday at the church’s Destiny of Faith fall festival, a day after a shooting at the church during the funeral of another homicide victim.

“We need the community to be honest about how many guns they have on the street,” Gainey told a small group gathered in the church cafeteria.

One man said the violence this month reminded them of a spike in homicides that swept the city in the early 1990s.

“The only difference between then and now is that it’s not gang related,” Gainey replied. “It’s anger.”

According to the Rev. Dr. Brenda Gregg, Destiny of Faith’s senior pastor, the church is working with the city to have support services available at the church for the next week.

“We are thankful that no shots were fired in the sanctuary and we thank our church officers for securing the church to prevent anyone from further harm,” Gregg said in a statement Saturday.

“Even in this very difficult time, Destiny of Faith Church will remain a beacon in our community and a place of refuge,” she continued.

The annual Harvest Festival was one avenue of refuge as well as a way to keep children off the streets and away from violence, volunteers said Saturday.

“Regardless of what happened yesterday, the church is still a safe place for children,” said Evelyn Hines.

Police arrested two suspects in the attacks

Also Saturday, Pittsburgh police charged two people with attempted murder and other crimes in connection with a shooting Friday afternoon.

Five people were shot dead and a sixth wounded while trying to escape funeral shooting in the church, located at 3737 Brighton Road.

Police arrested and charged Shawn Davis, 19, of McKees Rocks, and Hezekiah Nixon, 16, of the North Side, on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, cruelty to an animal and use of a firearm. . Davis is also charged with two counts of conspiracy. Nixon is charged as an adult.

Both are being held without bond in the Allegheny County Jail. Their preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 18. Police have not said if they are looking for additional suspects.

According to a police affidavit filed by Pittsburgh Police Detective Gabriel Lambright, surveillance video from the area around the church showed two men walking toward the church from Benton Avenue. At approximately 12:03 p.m., one of them pulled a long-barreled weapon from his coat and began firing several times toward the church.

Another man in the video shot a man standing on the sidewalk in front of the church, according to the affidavit. Both men then fled toward Benton Avenue with the guns.

According to the affidavit, one victim was shot in the chest. Four others were wounded in the arms and legs, and a sixth was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital for injuries after falling while trying to escape the gunfire.

Five victims were treated at Allegheny General Hospital. All were in stable condition on Friday.

The horse pulling the hearse was also injured by numerous shrapnel while standing near the church. Police said more than 20 shell casings were found at the scene.

The arrests came after police apprehended Davis and Nixon at McKees Rocks Bridge, which connects the north side to McKees Rocks and is less than two miles from the church.

Detectives located the vehicle used by Davis through private surveillance video, the affidavit said. They checked the vehicle’s license plate to identify Davis as the owner.

Detectives later went to an address in McKees Rocks where Davis had registered the vehicle. About 5:40 p.m. Friday, Davis and Nixon left the property in Davis’ car and drove to McKees Rock Bridge, where police stopped the car.

When he got out of the car. Nixon fled toward McKees Rocks and threw the firearm with its magazine out over the bridge into the river, police said.

Davis also discharged a .40-caliber handgun into the road, and police arrested both men, according to the affidavit. They were both wearing clothing that matched the descriptions of the men shown on surveillance video of the shooting, police said.

Police found three firearm magazines during a search of Davis’ home, even though he is ineligible for a firearms license due to a 2020 aggravated assault conviction. Nixon, being a minor, is also not allowed to carry a firearm.

A series of pictures

On Friday, the church held a funeral for 20-year-old John Hornzis, who was one of three people killed on Saturday, October 15, in shooting at Sunoco Gas station on Cedar Avenue in Deutschtown.

Police identified the two other women killed in the shooting as innocent victims and said earlier this week that Hornez was the likely target. No one was arrested as a result of the shooting.

Both investigations are ongoing, as is the investigation into another incident Thursday night in which two women and a man were shot at a residence on Raine Place in the Spring Hill neighborhood on the North Side, about 12 hours before Horneses’ funeral.

The man, who was shot in the neck, was in critical condition after being shot. The condition of the women, who were wounded in the arm and leg, is stable.