Megan Guza stories, Page 54
UPMC: Visitor brought in bacteria to Children’s Hospital ICU
A visitor to the neonatal intensive care unit at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is believed to have brought in the antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria that spread to six babies and six staff members, a hospital official said Tuesday. The hospital began testing the NICU infants and staff Thursday afternoon after...
Pittsburgh drag queen story times canceled after threats
Two children’s programs in Pittsburgh canceled scheduled drag queen story times over the weekend after unspecified social media threats targeted the program, which is hosted at dozens of libraries nationwide. The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and the main branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh canceled their events on Friday...
Attorneys in Robert Bowers case reach agreement in witness access dispute
Defense attorneys and federal prosecutors in the case against accused Tree of Life gunman Robert Bowers reached an agreement after weeks of consternation regarding access to witnesses, according to federal court filings. Bowers faces 51 federal charges in connection with the mass shooting at Squirrel Hill’s Tree of Life synagogue...
Penn Hills man pleads guilty to crash that killed his 2-year-old niece
A Penn Hills man pleaded guilty Thursday to a slew of charges related to a 2017 Parkway North crash that killed his niece. Taylor Jefferson, 26, faces a mandatory 3 to 6 years in prison after pleading to homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while DUI, involuntary manslaughter, endangering the...
Photos released in case of Syrian refugee accused of church bombing plot
Federal court filings this week revealed photos sent by a Syrian refugee who is accused of plotting to blow up a North Side Pittsburgh church as a show of support for ISIS. U.S. Attorney Soo Song entered into evidence two videos that Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 21, is accused of sending...
4 Canada lynx kittens introduced at Pittsburgh zoo
The Pittsburgh zoo introduced four Canada lynx kittens Wednesday as they got their first check-up and round of vaccines. The kittens – named Bjorn, Ragnar, Helga and Lagertha, after characters in the History Channel TV show “Vikings” – were born to mom Chayne on May 8. The kittens are about...
Lawsuit: Lewd photo of nursing home resident shared on Snapchat
Staff members at a Butler County nursing home allegedly took lewd photos of a resident suffering from dementia and shared the photo on multiple social media platforms, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The lawsuit claims staff at Paramount Senior Living at Seven Fields took a photo of an 83-year-old...
Duquesne teen sentenced to minimum 20 years for two shootings, one fatal
An Allegheny County judge Tuesday sentenced 17-year-old Thomas McKissick to at least 20 years in prison on charges of homicide and attempted homicide that stemmed from two separate 2017 incidents in Duquesne, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The first incident happened Oct. 10, 2017, when a 16-year-old boy met...
Vandals deface memorial to slain Pittsburgh officer Paul Sciullo II at parents’ home
Vandals defaced a memorial plaque outside the home of Sue and Max Sciullo, parents of slain Pittsburgh police officer Paul Sciullo II, authorities said Monday. The plaque memorializing their son, killed alongside two fellow officers in an ambush in Stanton Heights in 2009, is affixed to a railing on the...
Pittsburgh police promote 5 to sergeant rank
Pittsburgh police brass promoted five officers to the rank of sergeant during a swearing-in ceremony Monday in City Council Chambers. “You have grown into mentors and role models for your colleagues and the communities that you serve,” said Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich. The four men and one woman will...
Trial starts for man accused of killing McKeesport woman
A bench trial began Monday for a man accused in a double shooting that left one woman dead and another man injured on the steps of a McKeesport bar in 2017. Daniel Bizzelle, 27, is charged with homicide in the July 16, 2017, death of 23-year-old Samantha Klavora. He is...
Pittsburgh celebrates diversity at World Refugee Day
Pittsburgh celebrated World Refugee Day in Market Square on Friday with food, crafts, dance and music from a range of cultures and backgrounds. The yearly event saw stepped-up security after what Mayor Bill Peduto called hate speech and violent rhetoric aimed at the refugee community in response to the arrest...
Pittsburgh bomb plot only ‘puffery and bragging,’ says suspect’s attorney
As federal prosecutors laid out evidence Friday of a Syrian refugee’s alleged plot to bomb a North Side church in the name of ISIS, the man’s defense attorneys attempted to downplay his actual capabilities. Mustafa Mousab Alowemer, 21, is accused of plotting with two other men – undercover federal agents,...
Police arrest suspect in Wilkinsburg homicide
A man wanted by police turned himself in early Wednesday in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this month in Wilkinsburg that police said might have been spurred by jealousy. Alonzo Terrel Glen, 27, is charged with homicide in connection with the June 11 death of 49-year-old Marion White. A...
Tree of Life Rabbi Myers talks forgiveness on ‘Today’ show
Tree of Life’s Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and Rev. Eric Manning, who became pastor of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., a year after a mass shooting there, talked to the “Today” show about their unique friendship, forgiveness and moving forward. The two participated in a forum on race relations over...
Bill for Rosfeld trial cost $1.5 million for Pittsburgh Public Safety
The Michael Rosfeld homicide trial cost Pittsburgh over $1.5 million, the bulk of which was spent on police overtime, according to information provided by public safety officials to the Tribune-Review on Tuesday. The city paid police $1.37 million in overtime during a month-long span from early March until after the...
Man, teenage girl killed in Hill District gunfire at Airbnb identified
Authorities have identified a 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man killed in a triple shooting Tuesday night in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The shooting happened at a home on McNeil Place that was being rented out as an Airbnb, according to the home-rental company. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified...
No injuries in police chase, crash in East Liberty
A police pursuit of a stolen SUV ended in a crash Wednesday morning in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood, authorities said. Pittsburgh police officers on Penn Avenue spotted the stolen Jeep — which had reportedly been used in a number of business robberies in Turtle Creek, West Mifflin and Braddock –...
Police accuse volunteer with child care center of asking girls to take off clothes
Pittsburgh police have charged an 82-year-old man with corruption of minors, accusing him of asking two young neighbor children to undress for him while he was volunteering for a child care center. Investigators suspect there are likely more victims. Reid Reading, of Squirrel Hill, volunteered for five years at the...
Airbnb ‘horrified’ by Hill District shooting at rented house that left 2 dead
The Tuesday night shooting in Pittsburgh’s Hill District that left two people dead and another injured happened at a home being rented out as an Airbnb, according to the home-rental company. “We are horrified by the loss of life, and our thoughts are with the victims of this senseless tragedy,”...
Dozens of animals, reptiles seized from home where 5-foot gator named Chomp escaped
Pittsburgh police and animal control removed nearly three dozen animals Tuesday from the Beechview home of a man who has also claimed the five-foot alligator previously found wandering Rutherford Avenue. Mark McGowan, owner of Jungle’s Edge Exotics, has said the alligator found Thursday night – named Chomp – escaped from...
Pittsburgh police seek ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect in Memorial Day slaying
Pittsburgh police are searching for a man they believe shot and killed another man and wounded a teenager during a fight on Memorial Day, authorities said Tuesday. Jalaspian ‘Jay Bird’ Charles, 32, should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. The shooting happened just before 11 p.m. May 27 on...
Hill District kidnapping victim found bound, shot
A man is in stable condition after he was kidnapped early Monday and found 24 hours later, bound and shot, in the Hill District, according to Pittsburgh police. Police responded about 5:45 a.m. Monday to a Lombard Street residence for a reported home invasion and abduction, said Public Safety spokesman...
Lawsuit seeks to remove Allegheny County Jail inmate from solitary
Lawyers for a 20-year-old Pittsburgh woman are asking a federal judge to force Allegheny County Jail officials to remove her from solitary confinement, according to a lawsuit filed Monday. Kimberly Andrews is awaiting a bench trial later this month on two misdemeanor charges of theft and access device fraud, court...
Man paralyzed in Knoxville shooting dies 20 years later
A man shot and paralyzed 20 years ago in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood died Sunday, according to the medical examiner’s office. Omar Patterson was 15 when he was shot in the chest as he walked down Sylvania Way, an alley near his home, shortly before 6 p.m. on Feb. 11, 1999....
