The shooting of a 6-year-old girl in Homewood led to a fight between two sides of her family outside the hospital where she was taken Thursday, boiling over into another shooting that injured two men.
The girl’s family arrived at UPMC Children’s Hospital Thursday night after she was admitted in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. About 30 people were involved in the brawl, according to police.
Gerald Porter, 22, of Hazelwood, was arrested by UPMC police after firing multiple shots during the altercation. When a Pittsburgh police investigator arrived to interview him, Mr. Porter said that an argument had broken out between the maternal and the paternal sides of the 6-year-old’s family. He said he was on the maternal side.
The argument turned physical, and Mr. Porter said he saw a man punching several members of his side of the family, police said. He told police that he got “scared” and shot at the man, identified as Jermaine Smith.
Although Mr. Porter told police that he fired his handgun “like twice,” Mr. Smith man suffered five gunshot wounds, a criminal complaint says. He told investigators he “did not want to kill” the man.
Mr. Porter ended up shooting his own uncle, Darwin Womack, who was taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital for treatment, police said. At the hospital, Mr. Womack told officers that he was “snuck” up on during the fight and heard gunshots. Upon realizing he was shot, he returned home in Larimer and asked someone to call 911.
Mr. Porter faces four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of recklessly endangering another person. He was taken to the Allegheny County Jail and later posted $50,000 bond, court records show. A preliminary hearing was set for June 23.
No one else has been arrested in connection to the incident as of Saturday, and police said they had no update on the condition of the 6-year-old girl.
Pittsburgh police first responded to the shooting of the girl at 6:20 p.m. Thursday and found her in an SUV in the 7100 block of Frankstown Avenue. The adult who was driving the car was not injured, police said. No arrests had been made.
Mick Stinelli: mstinelli@post-gazette.com; 412-263-1869; and on Twitter: @MickStinelli
First Published June 11, 2021, 11:42pm