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Woman Mourns Another Family Tragedy

EAST PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Verona man is behind bars after being accused of killing his own brother.

The fatal shooting happened in East Oittsburgh this weekend and family members are devastated.

They say the murder is just the latest in a series of violent family tragedies.

According to police, the shooting happened just after 9 a.m. Saturday at a housing complex in the 600-block of Linden Avenue.

When police arrived, they found 39-year-old Dearto Rankin suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Rankin was rushed to the hospital where he later died.

Police said, his younger brother, Andre Rankin, pulled the trigger.

"I'm still in shock. I'm obviously very hurt. This is double for me, I've lost two brothers," Joslyn Rankin-Thornhill said.

Joslyn is a sister to both Dearto and Andre. She said the shooting was just a tragic accident.

"My brothers are my heart. I love them so much and when we go through stuff, we usually pick each other up and I can't fix this one," she said.

Life for Rankin-Thornhill has meant tragedy after tragedy.

In 2003, her mother, Carolyn, was sexually assaulted and murdered in a vacant lot in Wilkinsburg.

Ronald Coleman was convicted of the crime and was sentenced to life in prison.

Just four years later, Rankin-Thornhill's nephew's 5 and 6-year-old sons were killed in a fire in Larimer.

They were two of five children who died in the flames after being left alone in a row house.

As if that wasn't enough, Rankin-Thornhill's 10-month-old child died on Christmas Eve in 2010.

"Enough is definitely enough. I pray to God that this is it. I don't want to go through anything else," she said.

Rankin-Thornhill said Andre is remorseful for what happened to Dearto.

She said support from family is what keeps her going.

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