PITTSBURGH -- Two members of a Pittsburgh street gang shot and killed a 12-year-old girl while targeting somebody else at a house in the Perry South neighborhood, police said.

About 40 rounds of gunfire from a high-powered weapon were unloaded on a house on Brightridge Street early Monday night, killing Jolesa Barber and critically injuring her mother, Kim Wade, 42.

The second of two suspects -- Michael Gist, 15, of Perry South -- was arrested early Thursday morning at a South Greensburg motel.

Investigators said they received a tip that Gist's father, Michael Franklin, removed his son from his North Side home and took him to a South Greensburg motel.

"Mr. Franklin was stopped and questioned about his son," said assistant Pittsburgh police Chief Paul Donaldson. "In his pocket, we were fortunate enough to find a piece of paper that had the 'Knights Inn' written on it with the telephone number."

"After we knocked, an unknown white female opened the door," said Cmdr. Kevin Krause of the Pittsburgh Police Department. "She was brought out of the room, and he was found hiding in the bathroom. He was ordered to the ground and taken into custody without incident."

Franklin will be charged in Westmoreland County with hindering apprehension, police said.

Anthony Wilson, 30, also of Pittsburgh, was the first person arrested in the case. Police picked him up on Wednesday morning.

Barber was standing in a hallway when a bullet hit her in the chest, police said. She was struck several more times before falling into the kitchen.

Wade was hit in the leg and was in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital, police said.

Viewing for Jolesa is set for Monday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Allegheny Center Alliance Church on East Ohio Street. Funeral services will be held noon on Tuesday at the church.

"This was gang retaliation that involved the life of an innocent person," Police Chief Nate Harper said at a news conference to announce Wilson's arrest.

According to police, both shooting suspects are members of the North Charles Street Crips, a loosely affiliated group whose members range in age from 13 to 30.

While District Attorney Stephen Zappala stopped short of calling the group an organized gang, "we believe they are definitely dangerous," he said.

"Any gang members out there, we will pursue them as well," Harper said.

Police said an assault-style rifle and a 9 mm handgun were found in a weeded area of Brightridge Street after the shooting.

Police first believed the child's 22-year-old sister, who lives at the house, was the intended victim. But now, they say it may have been a male who was also in the house.

Police also said this was the most recent of several shootings on the street in recent weeks, and they believe all of the incidents are connected.

Zappala met with police on Wednesday morning to discuss anti-gang strategies.

"We want to know what assets, what agencies need to be brought to bear to dismantle these groups of persons," Zappala said.

City and community leaders see the recent shootings as reckless and barbaric gang violence with easy access to high-powered weapons.

"You have these people who are doing whatever they want, and it's putting fear in people in the community," said Pittsburgh Councilwoman Tanya Payne. "It's their safety that's at risk here."

"We don't have the need for those kind of weapons in our community," said Adrienne Young of the Allegheny Center Alliance Church. "What they have done is made it easier for these kids to terrorize our communities."

With the recent surge of violence, police said they have employed their North Side saturation patrol, where they will take a large amount of manpower and focus it on one area.

"I was there the other night," said Nicholas Holt of the Pittsburgh Police Department. "Tragedy. Too many gangs, too many drugs. Too many people coming in here to buy drugs."

Wilson and Gist are charged with homicide, aggravated assault, conspiracy and a weapons offense, police said. Gist was charged as an adult, police said.

---

Related Links:
More Allegheny County News

Get RSS Headlines | Free Desktop Alert

---