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Boy, 14, Fatally Shot In McKeesport

MCKEESPORT (KDKA) –-- The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office will decide if any charges will be filed after a teenager was shot and killed in McKeesport Tuesday afternoon.

The body of 14-year-old William Chaffin was found on the first floor in a house in the 1300 block of Ridge Street, after 911 got a call about gunfire around 2:30 p.m. He had been shot in the chest.

Neighbors said the same house had been shot up before. Bullet holes could clearly be seen near the front door, and in an upstairs window. It was the aftermath of previous gunfire from several months ago where no one was hurt.

Allegheny County Police were quick to take a person into custody after they arrived on the scene. Sources say he's a close friend of the Chaffins. He lived at the home where the shooting took place. He was questioned for several hours, but then released from custody with no charges against him.

A neighbor who knew the victim and his family says the entire community is devastated for them.

"This past Sunday, young Will had come forward to rededicate his life back to Christ, and he was to be baptized on the fourth Sunday of May," said Deacon Brent Robertson, of the Bethlehem Baptist Church. "He's 14, he's a kid, a kid, just a good kid."

Deacon Robertson said Chaffin's mother and grandmother were active members of the Bethlehem Baptist Church.

"It's more than a blow. We are at our wit's end here in McKeesport of just what's going on with all of the shootings," Robertson said.

william-chaffin
(Source: Facebook)

A large crowd of people began gathering just after the shooting, among those in the crowd were family members, neighbors and friends.

At one point, the crowd held hands near the house to pray for the victim and his family.

KDKA's Brenda Waters Reports:

One of them in that prayer circle was Bill Brownsfield, who is a long-time resident of the community. He said he did not know the victim, but knows his grandmother.

"We're praying for the family, praying for the whole community to come together and try to make peace out of this situation, 'cause you can't have a ruckus," Brownsfield said. "You can't go around thinking of getting retaliated, getting angry and stuff like that. You've got to calm yourself down."

Last week, a man and woman were shot and killed outside McKeesport's Crawford Village housing project.

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