Two persons of interest not charged in killing of Washington teen
Two people of interest in the Washington homicide of Alexis Barnett were taken for questioning from Belvedere Acres in Canton Township Thursday.
Alexis Barnett
At a news conference Thursday, Washington police Chief Robert Wilson, left, and Lt. Daniel Stanek discuss the fatal shooting in the city Wednesday night.
The scene of a shooting Wednesday night in front of 1125 Bruce St. in Washington that left one woman dead and a second injured.
A teddy bear, rose and balloon sit as a makeshift memorial in front of 1125 Bruce St. in the area where one woman was shot to death and another wounded on Wednesday night in Washington.
Shawn Sessoms, center, was taken from a housing complex in Canton Township for questioning in the Washington homicide of Alexis Barnett. Sessoms has not been charged.
Jamaal Greene, right, was taken from a housing complex in Canton Township for questioning in the Washington homicide of Alexis Barnett. Greene has not been charged.
Washington police on Thursday questioned two men connected to a shooting Wednesday night that killed a 19-year-old city woman and wounded a second woman.
Shawn Sessoms was arrested on a Washington County Drug Task Force warrant and Jamaal Greene was arrested on a parole violation Thursday.
State and city police converged on Belvedere Acres housing complex in Canton Township earlier in the afternoon and took Greene and Sessoms into custody.
Police Chief Robert Wilson stressed the men were not arrested or charged for the shooting, but were being questioned.
As Sessoms was led from the police department to be arraigned before a district judge, he denied being involved and told reporters he didn’t know the victim, Alexis Barnett.
Greene was taken to Washington County Courthouse.
Barnett was pronounced dead at 10:46 p.m. Wednesday at Washington Hospital of a gunshot wound to the back about an hour after the shootings were reported in the 1100 block of Bruce Street, said Washington County Coroner Tim Warco, who ruled her death a homicide.
Jasmine Young, 21, also of Washington, was treated at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for a gunshot wound to the lower left leg and released, said city police Lt. Daniel Stanek.
The two were walking with friends about 9:40 p.m. on Bruce toward Maple when shots were fired. Stanek said investigators have not determined if the shots were fired from a small, silver vehicle seen in the area at the time of the shootings.
“We believe neither one of them was a target, but a separate individual,” Stanek said. “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“There was a small, silver vehicle seen in the area just before and just after the shooting. We are still trying to determine if it is involved.”
Stanek said the man believed to have been the target was in the group walking with the two women. He said that man, who was the only male in the group, is cooperating with police.
“This was not a random shooting,” Stanek said.
India Stuart, who lives a few doors away from where the shooting happened, said she was giving her 5-year-old son a bath when she heard the gunshots. The two returned home about 20 minutes earlier.
“I then heard a commotion and screaming,” she said. “There were about 10 people. One girl was on the ground and another was shot in the leg. I am not sure what happened.”
Stuart said she heard two or possibly three shots.
“My son did not want to stay here, so we went to my grandmother’s (house), who lives about two blocks away,” Stuart said.
City police responded to more than a half-dozen gun-related calls since the first of the year.
“It might be a little higher than normal,” Stanek said. “We have ups and downs, peaks and valleys.”
Washington Mayor Scott Putnam said he believes there is a link between the number of shooting incidents and the area’s drug epidemic.
“The police department is doing everything in their power to solve (these cases) and working with city residents to eliminate future activities,” Putnam said.
Police Chief Robert Wilson agreed with Stanek that gun activity seems to come in waves.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said of the latest shooting. “She was not the intended target.”
Stanek asked people to share any information they may have about the shooting.
“There is a lot of traffic in that area, especially at that time of night,” Stanek said. “We have gotten calls this morning, so that is a positive.”
Anyone with information can call Stanek at 724-223-1386 or call 911 and ask to speak to a city police investigator.