Man killed in New Kensington shooting attacked in December, police say

The man identified as the victim in Wednesday’s deadly shooting in New Kensington was pistol-whipped in an Arnold home invasion last month, according to police.

Anthone Williams, 31, of Arnold’s Kenneth Avenue was shot multiple times as he sat in his vehicle in a closed section of New Kensington’s East Ken Manor housing complex around 5:20 p.m., Westmoreland County Deputy Coroner Joshua Zappone said.

Zappone said he pronounced Williams dead at the scene at 7:15 p.m. The death has been ruled a homicide.

Williams’ sister, Felicia Williams of New Kensington, was one of about a dozen people who stood outside the New Kensington police station late Wednesday waiting for more information on the shooting.

“He was a good brother and loving father,” Felicia Williams said of her brother, who she said had five children.

“He was a comedian. There’s more good things about him than bad. This is a shock and I no longer have a brother because of someone’s actions,” Felicia Williams said.

Pennsylvania court records show Anthone Williams was convicted in at least 11 criminal cases since 2011, with offenses ranging from robbery and theft to drug charges, drunken driving and fleeing or eluding police. He had a court date scheduled for Tuesday on charges including driving without a license and having a fraudulent inspection sticker.

Williams was the victim of a violent crime in December, according to an Arnold police report.

Arnold police were dispatched to Williams’ Kenneth Avenue home Dec. 16 to investigate a reported home invasion in which Williams was assaulted and pistol-whipped by three people armed with handguns, the police report said.

The report said Williams had blood running down the side of his face when police arrived, but Williams said he did not want medical treatment or to talk with officers, aside from telling them that his assailants had fled in a black Chrysler 200 car. Williams also said he wasn’t interested in pursuing charges if police made any arrests.

No suspects had been arrested as of Thursday afternoon in connection with the home invasion or Wednesday’s shooting.

Police did not say whether they believe the two incidents were related.

Wednesday’s shooting happened in a section of East Ken Manor that has been closed since the 1990s, Westmoreland Public Housing authority Executive Director Michael Washowich said. Empty apartment buildings still stand there.

It was unknown whether any of the authority’s surveillance cameras captured footage of the shooting.

The open portion of East Ken Manor is about 95% occupied, with 20 one-bedroom apartments, 52 two-bedroom apartments and 50 apartments with three or more bedrooms.