Multiple news outlets are reporting that East Pittsburgh police have shot and killed a 17-year-old Black man who ran away from them last night at a traffic stop (1,2,3). Video taken by a bystander shows two men running from a car as police open fire.
So far police have not released the victim’s name or those of the officers who killed him. They claim that the car the victim was riding in had “ballistic damage”, and matched the description of a vehicle seen near the vicinity of a recent shooting in nearby North Braddock. The driver of the car was arrested, while the surviving passenger got away and is still free as of this writing. Police have not released their names either.
East Pittsburgh is a small borough of Allegheny County located near North Braddock and Turtle Creek. Despite the name it does not share a border with Pittsburgh. The borough has a police of nine officers, Chief Lori Fruncek and eight patrol officers. Their names and work email addresses are linked in a screen shot taken from the East Pittsburgh web site.
Torchlight condemns the murder in the strongest terms. We will publish more information as we get it.
UPDATE: The victim was Antwon Rose, a senior at Woodland Hills High School. KDKA has more details.
Rest in power, Antwon.