Man Delivering Newspapers Killed In Overnight Shooting In New Kensington
NEW KENSINGTON (KDKA) -- Police are investigating after an overnight shooting left one man dead in New Kensington, Westmoreland County.
Officers were first called to Kenneth Avenue, near Catalpa Street, around 3 a.m.
"I heard, pop, pop, pop," said Cindy Eshenbaugh who lives in New Kensington.
Eshenbaugh lives just a few houses away from where the shooting happened.
"So, I came and told my daughter, I said, 'I think somebody just got shot.' She said, 'What?'", said Eshenbaugh.
A car involved in the shooting slammed into a fence and a grill on Kenneth Avenue. KDKA is told that first responders pulled the driver out of the vehicle and paramedics attempted CPR, but he ended up dying on the street.
"When the officers arrived, they found a grey Chevy Impala that was wrecked up on a fence on a sidewalk," said New Kensington Police Chief, Robert Deringer.
Police say the victim was fatally shot while delivering newspapers.
The Westmoreland County Coroner's Office has identified the man as 69-year-old Gregory Smith of New Kensington. He died of a gunshot wound to the head, and his death has been ruled a homicide.
"The vehicle was still in drive in the engine wasn't running without an older man unconscious and bleeding severely from the head," said Deringer.
NEW: New Kensington police tell us the man who was shot and killed overnight on Kenneth Ave. was just doing his job. He was delivering newspapers. @KDKA
— Lindsay Ward (@LindsayWardTV) May 23, 2019
Richard Smith was too overcome with grief to talk about the brutal murder of his brother.
Smith's sister-in-law Jean Smith says he was out on his paper route delivering the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as he had for more than 14 years.
"He was a good guy, a little unusual, but he did the newspaper thing every day. He loved doing it. He would always help anybody, he was always out there helping," she said.
Smith had lived in New Kensington all of his life and his family says he owns several properties in the area. If people didn't know his name they knew his face.
"I just hope they catch him," Jean Smith said. "I don't know why somebody would do it to him. He always help everybody, so I wish they would catch him."
Right now, police could not confirm if this shooting was random or targeted, but say they don't believe it's connected to a shooting that happened just 48 hours earlier in nearby Arnold.
"We do not know that, I don't believe there's a connection, but it's too early for that," said Deringer.
Police say this is an ongoing investigation.
They have no description of a shooter, but are working on a possible motive.
"My thought is, I would take a wild guess it's a robbery, but like I said, we have no evidence to corroborate anything at this point," said Deringer.
If you have any information, reach out to the New Kensington Police Department.
