Student killed in shooting outside academy
The student shot outside Oliver Citywide Academy on the North Side Tuesday has died
By KDKA News Staff
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The student shot outside Oliver Citywide Academy on the North Side Tuesday has died, police said.
According to reports, two suspects walked up to a school van at dismissal and opened fire, a spokesperson for Pittsburgh Public Schools said. The 15-year-old student was gravely wounded, shot in the chest twice, police said. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition where police said he died.
All students were brought inside the building and the school was placed on lockdown as a precaution, Pittsburgh Public Schools said. Police said the students inside weren’t believed to be in danger. The school reopened around 3:20 p.m. and began to dismiss students before 4 p.m.
It’s unclear what the relationship is between the two suspects and victim, police said, but it’s believed he was targeted. According to investigators, the student and the driver were the only ones inside the van. The bus driver was upset, but uninjured and cooperating with police, investigators said.
KDKA’s Jessica Guay talked to the boy’s family, who were upset some of them weren’t allowed inside Allegheny General Hospital to say goodbye because of COVID-19 protocols.
Police are searching for the two suspects. The pair is considered armed and dangerous, but the only description police could provide was that they were wearing masks and dark clothing and appeared to be younger.
“This is obviously, for us, a tragedy anytime anyone is shot, but to have a teenager in front of a school is something we don’t accept. We’re going to do everything we can with our investigative resources, every tool we have to try to locate the people that were involved and get them into custody,” said Pittsburgh police chief Scott Schubert.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said he told police to pledge all their resources to finding the killers and bringing justice to the “heinous and criminal act.”
A teacher told Pittsburgh Public Schools Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters the boy had been a student at Oliver Citywide Academy since the third of grade and he loved school.
“His smile was contagious and lit up a room. His sense of humor was infectious, and the staff member said that staff are inconsolable at this time because they loved him so much,” Walters said.
Walters said there would be support for students and staff members at the school.
“As a former principal, I know just the possibility of an incident like today is what keeps us up at night. It is not a place where it’s restful, it’s not a place to peace,” he said.
Because of the shooting, the school will learn remotely until Monday, a spokesperson said. “Our thoughts are with the student injured in today’s incident and his family,” a statement read.
There was a heavy police presence outside the school before investigators began to clear the scene when the school reopened.
One person was initially detained, but police said that person wasn’t related to the shooting and was released. Investigators know which way the suspects ran after the shooting, and they’re now looking at video footage.
“It can’t go unnoticed that we can’t lose sight of the primary effect of what’s happened and that we must make sure funding goes to what is really helping families that have experienced this trauma,” said Councilman Bobby Wilson.
Brighton Road closed to traffic between Marshall and California, Pittsburgh Public Safety said. It has since reopened.
Pittsburgh police and Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies are at the scene, as are police K-9 units, KDKA-TV’s Chris Hoffman reported from the scene.
Pittsburgh Oliver Citywide Academy is a “full-time special education center serving grades 3-12,” according to the district’s website. It’s described as “a highly structured school with a school-wide behavioral management system to support the positive behavioral support plans for each student.”
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