PITTSBURGH -- Police said Ernest Tolliver, 15, of East Liberty, is dead after he was shot in a KFC parking lot in the Homewood section of Pittsburgh.

Police said the shooting happened at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Frankstown and North Homewood avenues.

Someone ran up to Tolliver's car and shot him in the neck as the vehicle was leaving the drive-through section of the restaurant.

Police said Tolliver's mother, who was driving, and his 11-year-old sister, who was in the back seat, were not hurt.

Police describe the gunman as black, about 25 years old, around 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds. He was last seen dressed in all black wearing a yellow skullcap.

Police said they believe Tolliver hung out with gang members in the East Hills, saying the shooting might have been gang-related.

According to police, Tolliver was at the scene of a nonfatal shooting at an under-21 nightclub last week. Although he was not a suspect in that shooting, police said it is possible his death was related to that shooting.

Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper said on Tuesday that Tolliver's death was gang-related.

"The Homewood shooting was retaliatory," said Harper. "Gang connected."

Police said they have identified a person of interest in a shooting last week, but would not call the man a suspect.

"We have a person we would like to talk to," said Lt. Daniel Herrmann of the Pittsburgh Police Department. "I don't think you want to call him a suspect, but we do want to interview him in relation to a shooting that happened last week and maybe connect it to this."

---

Related Links:
More Allegheny County News

Get RSS Headlines | Free Desktop Alert

---