Local Singer Continues To Recover After Being Shot In Face

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A local singer who was shot in the face is continuing to recover in the hospital.

KDKA exclusively caught up with 61-year-old Carlton Leeper Friday.

Leeper isn't able to speak due to his injuries, but was able to communicate by writing down his answers.

"It happened very fast, I was alert, opened the car door and rolled out on the sidewalk and prayed not to die," he wrote.

Leeper drove to Ridge Avenue in Stowe Township last Saturday night to pick up his son at his girlfriend's house.

"They rode up on the car and just started firing, shooting," said Leeper's son.

As they were leaving, his son says someone drove around the corner and started shooting. One of the bullets hit Leeper in the side of his face.

"Entered my lip, pierced my tongue and lodged in my jaw," Leeper wrote. "The doctors and nurses at AGH are angels. They, with the help of God, saved my life. I could be dead."

Leeper's son says he believes the shooting was random and he was not the intended target.

Carlton Leeper is a singer who often performs at local clubs and hotels in the downtown area. His son is hopeful his dad will one day sing again, as is Leeper.

"Absolutely," Leeper wrote.

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