Teen killed in Pittsburgh's Allentown linked to earlier Braddock double homicide, police say

The teen killed Tuesday in a Pittsburgh shooting was linked to an Aug. 27 shooting in Braddock that claimed the lives of two Woodland Hills High School seniors, authorities confirmed Thursday.

Pittsburgh police and Allegheny County Police said the teen was present at the earlier shooting in Braddock, but stopped short of saying that his death in the city’s Allentown neighborhood was a revenge killing.

Mohamed Hussein, 15, was shot in the torso on Excelsior Street in Allentown around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday and died later that day at a hospital, Pittsburgh police said.

The same day, county police filed homicide charges in the Braddock shooting against Jerell Rockymore, 16, who they say killed Rimel Williamson and Nazir Parker, two 17-year-old boys who had just entered their senior year at Woodland Hills High School.

A criminal complaint filed against Rockymore said that he conspired with Hussein in the Braddock shooting. No charges were filed against Hussein.

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Cara Cruz said the teen killed Tuesday was the same person linked to the earlier double homicide in Braddock, but she declined further comment and referred questions about the Braddock shooting to county police.

Related:

• 2 high school students killed, another male hurt in Braddock shooting

“It’s under investigation,” Cruz said. “It’s all I can say at this time.”

When asked about Hussein, county police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said, “We’re able to confirm it’s the same person. As for the Allentown shooting, that’s not our case. I can’t comment on that.”

Surveillance video shot in Braddock on Aug. 27 showed Rockymore, Hussein and a juvenile who was not named standing outside a Chartiers Avenue business at 8 p.m., armed with three guns, the criminal complaint said.

Police said they found multiple videos on Rockymore’s cellphone where Rockymore and Hussein are “handling multiple handguns,” the complaint said. The last video was shot at 7:13 p.m. on the night of the Braddock shooting.

Additional video captured in Braddock around 11 p.m. that night shows three people dressed in dark clothing near Center and Margaretta streets, the complaint said. A fourth person, who police did not name, was farther up Margaretta Street, on the opposite side of the street.

The fourth person then moves towards the other three and, within seconds, multiple gun muzzle flashes can be seen, the complaint said. The fourth person then runs toward a grassy area near Margaretta Street, near where police said they found a stolen 9mm handgun after the shooting.

After the fourth person can no longer be seen in the video, an additional gun muzzle flash can be seen going off from near where the first three people in dark clothing were standing, the complaint said.

Police later found Rockymore with multiple wounds in a Center Street residence, police said. Two teens — later identified as Williamson and Parker — were found shot dead in the street.

Rockymore was charged Tuesday with criminal homicide, receiving stolen property and a firearms charge, court records show.

The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force took Rockymore into custody in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, county police announced on Facebook.

Rockymore was arraigned Wednesday night, court records show. District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst denied bail, saying that Rockymore was a danger to the community.

An attorney for Rockymore was not listed in the court records Thursday morning.