Pennsylvania Shooting Leaves 5 Dead, 3 Injured

A Pennsylvania shooting left five people dead and another three injured overnight, police said.

The shooting happened at the scene of a backyard party or cookout in the rear of a home on Franklin Avenue in Wilkinsburg Borough, according to Allegheny County police.

At 10:54 p.m., Wilkinsburg police were dispatched to the location where they found eight people suffering from gunshot wounds, police said. Four of the victims - three women and one man - were dead at the scene.

Four others - two men and two women - were transported to local hospitals. One female victim died at a hospital, while two men were in critical condition and one woman was reportedly in stable condition.

"Heartbroken by last night’s senseless violence in Wilkinsburg. Thoughts are with the family and friends of this terrible tragedy's victims," Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wrote on Twitter.

Ballistic evidence at the scene led police to believe that two different weapons were discharged from two different people, police said.

Shots were fired from an alley to the rear of 1304 Franklin Avenue. Partygoers appeared to try to run into the residence when a person in the backyard adjacent to the home fired at the back porch, police said.

All four of the individuals who died at the scene died on that back porch, police said.

Investigators said possibly two shooters appeared to have fled the scene on foot, and no one was in custody early Thursday. The identities of the deceased victims were not immediately released.

"It went on for almost a minute," James Boyd told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I thought it was maybe the pipes bursting. But then we realized it was gunshots. We've had trouble in this neighborhood before but never this close to home."

A woman who said she lived one house away from the shooting scene told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that her neighbors had a cookout and were still in their backyard when the shots rang out.

Anyone who was at the scene or who saw or heard anything is asked to call the Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit at 412-473-1300. Callers can remain anonymous and can also reach out to county police through social media.