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Boy, 15, Dies After Being Shot Multiple Times In Duquesne

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DUQUESNE (KDKA) -- A 15-year-old boy is dead after he was shot Wednesday afternoon in a back alleyway near a wooded area in the City of Duquesne.

It was just after 5 p.m. when police and 911 started getting multiple calls about gunshots in the neighborhood. Duquesne City Police and Allegheny County Police quickly responded to the 400-block of Williams Street.

Allegheny County Police Sgt. Ken Ruckel said, "They located a 15-year-old male victim lying down with gunshot wounds. He was transported to McKeesport Hospital where he was pronounced dead."

The Allegheny County medical examiner's office has identified the victim as Lezra Rice, of North Braddock.

A local pastor, who is also a Duquesne City councilman, said something has to be done about the prevalence of guns that all too frequently fall into the wrong hands.

"We have to do something about these teens and young adults that have guns and should not have them," Pastor Timothy Caldwell, Sr., of New Life Ministries, said. "I'm all for the right of an individual to bear arms, but having them [guns] in the wrong hands is not fair and not right."

As news of the shooting spread, police kept the area taped off looking for possible evidence and neighbors showed up at the scene.

Kayla Paugh told KDKA-TV, "I lived in Duquesne for about a year and a half, and in the past year, I've experienced four shootings."

Another neighbor, Frank Dawalt, said, "Just last night, there was six shots fired from a black SUV right along Grant Avenue. What exactly is the world coming to?"

UPDATE (Oct. 12, 2017):

Police have issued a "be on the lookout alert" for as many as three men in connection with the shooting. According to the alert, they were in a 2001 gold-colored Toyota Camry with the license plate KMA-2516.

Thomas McKissick, 17, pled guilty to third-degree murder and attempted homicide in connection with the shooting death of Rice on June 25, 2019, the Allegheny County District Attorney's office said.

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