Jeannette man identified as victim of fatal shooting

An aspiring rapper who was a father of two died Monday night in a shooting in Jeannette that left two people wounded.

Mariell McGowan, 29, of Jeannette was fatally shot about 5:30 p.m. on Cuyler Avenue, just a few doors down from his mother’s home and a block from the city police station.

Two other men who were injured by the gunfire are expected to survive, police Chief Shannon Binda said. Both are Jeannette residents, but their identities were not made public.

“There was an earlier incident involving this group,” Binda said. “This is an ongoing investigation. No other details are available at this time.”

Police interviewed a fourth person at the station Monday night. No charges had been filed as of Tuesday afternoon.

Family members remembered McGowan as a protective man who was overjoyed at the birth of his second son last month. He was the father of infant Kashton and Anthony, 7, family said.

“He wanted to have more right after,” said his sister Marissa McGowan.

He played football for the Jeannette Jayhawks and earned an athletic scholarship to Lincoln University in Eastern Pennsylvania, she said.

“He had a lot of good morals about being honest, trustworthy, keeping your word,” Marissa McGowan said.

Mariell McGowan had a strong faith and was recording rap music while working at a factory and as a landscaper, said Marissa McGowan and his uncle, Tim Williamson. He posted many of his songs online under the name “City.”

“He definitely was a leader, that’s for sure,” Williamson said. “He had his problems, too, like we all do, but he was getting out of all that.”

Mariell McGowan had a few run-ins with the police between 2011 and 2016, according to online records. He had been convicted of drug, theft and robbery charges.

In an interview posted on YouTube in August, he talked about how he got interested in rapping and his inspirations. He said he was working on a new album — “Life of the Come Up.”

“It’s an everyday grind,” he said.

Witnesses reported about a dozen gunshots on Cuyler Avenue, and police cordoned off the area while they gathered evidence through the night. Mayor Curtis Antoniak said the situation was the result of an argument that escalated and not a random shooting.

On Tuesday, yellow police tape was balled up on the front porch of the home where the shooting happened. A child’s toy sat nearby. A wreath hung on the door.

Williamson, who has lived in the city for about 10 years, decried a few recent acts of gun violence in Jeannette.

“It’s terrible. I’ve never seen Jeannette like this,” he said.

Police said there is no active threat to the community. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Jeannette police at 724-527-4013 or Westmoreland County detectives at 724-830-3949.

It was the city’s second fatal shooting in less than two months.

On Sept. 6, Dameian L. Williams, 48, of Jeannette was shot and killed outside McKee Stadium as a high school football game headed into its final minutes.

Greg A. Harper, 40, of Jeannette is charged with homicide and reckless endangerment. He claims the shooting was in self-defense as the two men argued. Harper is being held without bail.