Megan Guza stories, Page 34
TSA catches 3 guns in 8 days at Pittsburgh International
Security officials caught three travelers trying to get guns through the checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport in the past eight days, officials said. The guns mark a continuing trend Transportation Security Administration officials noted last month: fewer travelers passing through airport security but more guns being caught by agents. On...
Pittsburgh officials denounce weekend disturbances during Downtown protests
Pittsburgh Public Safety officials Tuesday condemned “the actions of a few protesters” during weekend protests, reiterating a pledge to protect the First Amendment and prosecute those who break the law. “People have the right to dine in public without being accosted and without vulgarities being thrown at them,” Public Safety...
President Trump calls Pittsburgh protesters ‘anarchists,’ ‘thugs’
President Donald Trump responded to viral videos showing apparent clashes in Pittsburgh between protesters and the public over the weekend, using Twitter to take aim at Democratic challenger Joe Biden while calling the demonstrators “anarchists” and “thugs.” “BLM Protesters horribly harass elderly Pittsburgh diners, scaring them with loud taunts while...
Outer Banks sees low covid-19 numbers; remains popular vacation spot despite pandemic
Counties that make up the Outer Banks barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina have mostly been spared by the covid-19 pandemic, and Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday moved the state into the next phase of the tiered reopening plan. The next phase, beginning at 5 p.m. Friday, is...
Oakmont family to stand trial in toddler’s death
The last months of 3-year-old Bella Seachrist’s life were spent stationary, allegedly forced to sit for so long on her training potty that her feet became swollen and purple, detectives testified Friday at a preliminary hearing for the three adults charged with her homicide. The girl’s father, Jose Salazar-Ortiz, his...
Ex-West Penn employee accused of videotaping coworkers faces more charges
A former West Penn Hospital employee already accused of surreptitiously recording coworkers in the bathroom now faces 83 additional charges, some of which allege he recorded unsuspecting patients in an MRI room, according to court records. Guy Caley, 52, of Canonsburg, was originally charged in July, months after a co-worker...
Allegheny County health director, executive receive shots in covid-19 vaccine trials
Allegheny County Director of Health Dr. Debra Bogen and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald are taking part in a clinical trial for a covid-19 vaccine, both said Wednesday. “As a pediatrician, I have great confidence in vaccines,” Bogen said during her weekly press briefing on the virus. She said she has...
Scene 75 in Edgewood reopening indoor entertainment complex
The indoor entertainment complex Scene 75 in the Edgewood Towne Center will reopen this weekend. The entertainment venue closed its doors March 12, a week before state officials announced the shutdown of non-life-sustaining businesses. Since then, the venue has held online contests via its Facebook page and offered ideas for...
Pittsburgh man accused of shooting at ATF agent indicted
A federal grand jury this week indicted a Pittsburgh man accused as part of a drug-trafficking street gang for shooting a federal agent during a June raid by law enforcement. The indictment, returned Tuesday, charges 44-year-old Dion Williams with firing at an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms...
Port Authority officials address Black Lives Matter masks controversy ahead of planned protest
Port Authority Chief Executive Katharine Kelleman on Wednesday addressed controversy surrounding a policy barring bus drivers from wearing Black Lives Matter face masks, a statement that came ahead of a protest that was spurred by employees receiving reprimands for going against the policy. “I want to be absolutely clear: Port...
Pittsburgh Parking Authority resumes ticketing in residential permit-only zones
The Pittsburgh Parking Authority will begin enforcing permit-only parking in residential areas on Tuesday, city officials said. The city suspended a slew of parking regulations in mid-March as the covid-19 pandemic took hold locally, and summer has seen some enforcement begin again. There are more than a dozen residential areas...
Allegheny County increases pandemic outdoor gatherings limit to 100, no change for indoorsVideo
Outdoor gatherings in Allegheny County will be limited to 100 people, double the limit that has been in effect since mid-July, county health officials said late Friday afternoon. The new limit goes into effect Saturday, though all other virus-related restrictions will stand, said Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the county...
Man gets 5 years in prison for lottery scam targeting elderly Pennsylvanians
The ringleader of a Jamaican lottery scheme that bilked senior citizens out of millions of dollars will spend more than five years in prison for the scam that spanned not just Pennsylvania but also reached nationwide, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Friday. Kristoff Cain, who went by Patrick Williams, pleaded...
Wilkinsburg officer who shot Romir Talley also reported the memorial mural
A Wilkinsburg police officer who shot and killed a man last year is the same officer who tipped off other officers that a mural honoring the slain man was being painted, leading to felony charges against the artists, documents show. Officer Robert Gowans shot and killed 24-year-old Romir Talley just...
Man wanted in connection with Mt. Washington homicide arrested in Florida
Federal marshals in Florida arrested a Pittsburgh man wanted in connection with a June shooting outside a bar in Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh police said Thursday. Damian Schott, 24, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals on Wednesday, authorities said. Schott, of Mt. Washington, has been wanted since homicide charges were...
Duquesne renews commitment to Jaylen Brown’s mother as she moves hunger strike indoors
A woman on a hunger strike searching for answers in the 2018 death of her son at Duquesne University said she plans to move into an apartment rather than remain in a tent encampment on the Hill District’s Freedom Corner. Duquesne University President Ken Gormley wrote in an email to...
Pa. leaders loosen childcare restrictions as families balance work, online learning
Most children across the state are returning to school in partially online , and Pennsylvania leaders say they are adding more flexibility to childcare options as parents work to balance their jobs with their children now learning from home. That flexibility includes temporarily suspending some regulations in order to create...
Pitt bars 8 students from campus for violating covid-19 guidelines
University of Pittsburgh officials barred eight students on Wednesday for flouting the university’s rules and guidelines meant to mitigate the spread of covid-19 among students, a spokesperson for the school said. “We must do better,” Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner wrote in an email to students Wednesday afternoon. The eight...
Allegheny County officials consider easing coronavirus restrictions
Weeks after Allegheny County and then the state Department of Health re-implemented restrictions on bars, indoor dining and gatherings, county health officials on Wednesday said those efforts are working and there are signs the virus is relenting. Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, said she is...
1-year-old killed amid night of violence in Pittsburgh
A bullet meant for someone else found its way through a window and two walls at an apartment complex in Spring Hill, killing a 1-year-old boy as he slept in his bed Monday night. Pittsburgh police on Tuesday morning pleaded for anyone with information about the shootout that killed Zykier...
Activist arrested outside the home of Pittsburgh Mayor Peduto
Pittsburgh police, in an incident mediated by a defense attorney and local activist, arrested a prominent protester Friday night for alleged disorderly conduct after he spent another evening protesting outside the home of Mayor Bill Peduto. Lorenzo Rulli faces multiple misdemeanor and summary charges, including possession of an instrument of...
Feds accuse 26 of being part of fentanyl-trafficking ring tied to Shot Boyz gang, Latrobe drug dealing
A federal grand jury this week indicted more than two dozen people for their alleged roles in a fentanyl-trafficking ring that stretched into Westmoreland County. The 17-page indictment unsealed Friday is the culmination of a five-month wiretap investigation that included law enforcement from Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Latrobe, federal agents and more....
Mayor Peduto shakes up Pittsburgh police units after escalating clashes with protesters
Pittsburgh Police Special Response Teams trained in traditional crowd-control tactics will no longer be the first line of response during protests, Mayor Bill Peduto announced Friday, two days after police clashed with protesters just blocks from his front door. It’s one of a number of changes Peduto laid out in...
Travelers left more than $5,000 behind in Pittsburgh airport security bins last year
Travelers passing through Pittsburgh International left behind more than $5,000 at security checkpoints in one year, part of more than $900,000 that travelers nationwide forgot before their flights during that time. The Transportation Security Administration’s report on cash left behind at security checkpoints runs from fiscal year Oct. 1, 2018,...
Police charge Pittsburgh man with assault, riot after protest at Mayor Peduto’s house
A protester arrested Wednesday night after a protest outside Mayor Bill Peduto’s Point Breeze home is charged with aggravated assault and riot after police allege he pushed his bicycle against and struggled with officers. The arresting officer wrote in the complaint that his body-worn camera was knocked off while he...
