Penn Hills School District to hold peace rally to honor recent students' deaths

The Penn Hills School District will hold a peace rally Thursday evening following the fourth death of a Penn Hills High School student in six weeks.

The rally will be in front of the main entrance of Penn Hills High School at 6 p.m.

“We’re calling everybody in Penn Hills to come there and stand together,” said Penn Hills school board president Erin Vecchio. “I don’t have the answers. I know there are people who have the funding to get programs here. No parent should ever have to bury a child.”

Jason Hubert Jackson Jr., 17, was shot to death Monday evening outside an abandoned Penn Hills home.

The Allegheny County Police said Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police Chief Howard Burton said residents along Gibson Street reported hearing multiple gunshots around 7:15 p.m.

Responding officers found Jackson’s body lying outside an abandoned home at the end of Gibson Street, a dead-end road.

Burton said there are currently no suspects or details on what led to this incident. Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating.

Three other students have died in the past month and a half — Daymeir Boyd and Darin Hobdy, were shot and killed May 16 and May 23, respectively, and in April, Jason Lott Jr. died of a heroin overdose, according to his mother, Gina Bigenho. She said it was the first time he used the drug.

“It’s terrible,” Vecchio said. “Tragedies of three lives wasted. Where’s the leadership in Penn Hills organizing something to stop this? We need programs for kids. We need places for kids to go. We have nothing here. We had three kids die in eight days. Somebody needs to do something.”

Vecchio encouraged the community to come out to the rally to stand together.

Grief counselors are available for students. The school board had a moment of silence for the victims and offered families condolences at its May 26 meeting.

Councilman John Petrucci posted on Facebook Tuesday to address the tragedy, citing the safety and health of residents as a “number one priority.”

He announced that he will be meeting with the Penn Hills police chief, the municipal manager, the Allegheny County District Attorney, and community leaders to “brainstorm ideas to help move Penn Hills forward in a positive direction.”

“We must come together to solve this crisis,” he said. “While there is no one cause or single solution for these problems, if the community is united in curbing violence on our streets, I have no doubt that we can be impactful and save lives.”

He also encouraged Penn Hills residents to report any suspicious activity to the Penn Hills Police Department by calling 911. To report ongoing suspicious activity, the municipality has established an anonymous, non-emergency tip line: 412-342-0922.

Tribune-Review staff writer Mike Divittorio contributed to this story.