Wilkinsburg Shooting Leaves 1 Dead
WILKINSBURG (KDKA) – Police are investigating after one woman was shot and killed in Wilkinsburg early Wednesday morning.
According to police, the shooting happened in the 300-block of South Trenton Avenue around 2:45 a.m.
Allegheny County Police say this is the first homicide in 2013 in Wilkinsburg and they are aggressively pursuing the investigation.
Michael Loreski told KDKA's Brenda Waters what he heard: "Just a boom, big explosion, like one of those power surges going off."
KDKA's Heather Abraham Reports:
On a quiet morning on South Trenton Street, Allegheny County homicide detectives surrounded the body of a woman who was shot in the face and left in the street.
"The early indication was it was some sort of shotgun," Allegheny County Police Lt. Andrew Schurman said.
Because her facial injuries were so severe, investigators could not immediately identify the woman following the shooting, which led to additional problems developing a suspect or motive. However, police were looking at all possibilities.
"There's potential that this started as some sort of domestic dispute, in a car, and spilled out onto the street and then the other party left. That's something we're looking into as a potential motive," Allegheny County Police Lt. Schurman said.
The victim is described as an African American woman in her 20s, four-feet-10-inches tall and 300 pounds.
She was wearing gray sweat pants and a white tee-shirt. She had a shoulder length weave in her hair.
Police say she wore tennis shoes priced at $180. They are black and green Nike Air Max.
County detectives returned to the scene later in the morning to search for more evidence or witnesses.
Police did not initially believe the victim was from the immediate area and while they were still working on additional information, they do not believe the shooting was random.
KDKA's Brenda Waters Reports:
Still, one woman who lives on the street was afraid for her own safety.
"It's worse than the wild wild west around when women start getting killed," Mayme Williams said. "It's time for me to move. It really is."
With any investigation, witnesses are extremely important and county police are putting even more emphasis on that in this case, hoping someone comes forward with information.
Anyone with information is asked to call Allegheny County Police at (412)-473-1253.
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