An 18-year-old man who was injured during a shooting incident that left two dead at McKeesport’s Crawford Village housing complex is facing firearms charges.
Davon Flewellen-Belton of McKeesport is charged with two weapons violations after he was found by Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies with a loaded handgun following the Wednesday afternoon shooting, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
Officers responded to the housing complex around 1 p.m. — the second shooting they investigated in McKeesport that afternoon — where they found three people shot, including Mr. Flewellen-Belton, who had a gunshot wound to the leg.
Jerred Duncan, 22, of Turtle Creek was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot in the torso. Jordan Eubanks, 30, of McKeesport, died later at UPMC Mercy after being found in the 47-apartment building with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the complaint.
Video footage shows Mr. Eubanks standing outside his apartment in the 47 building with other people, including Mr. Duncan and Mr. Flewellen-Belton, officials said.
After a few seconds, Mr. Duncan is seen punching Mr. Eubanks who then pulls out a gun and fires multiple shots at the other man, according to the complaint.
Mr. Flewellen-Belton runs away from the scene, but returns carrying a gun. Video footage shows him then shooting at Mr. Eubanks, officials said.
According to the criminal complaint, Mr. Flewellen-Belton was seen by an Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputy running from the 47 building. The deputy found him near the 58-apartment building with a loaded 9mm Taurus handgun with a magazine containing three live rounds.
While Mr. Flewellen-Belton was being taken to UPMC Presbyterian, he told officials he was standing outside when an argument started between a neighbor and Mr. Flewellen-Belton’s father. The argument escalated and the neighbor pulled out two guns, one of which he shot at his father.
Allegheny County police said shots were fired by Mr. Eubanks, Mr. Flewellen-Belton and his 44-year-old father.
While talking to officers, Mr. Flewellen-Belton said he fired in self-defense, the complaint reads.
Police are working with the Allegheny District Attorney’s office to determine any further charges.
Throughout the afternoon, officers swarmed the apartment complex as they investigated the incident that forced an area school district to go on lockdown.
Residents gathered outside, comforting each other. Many discussed how crime is worsening at the apartment complex. Children watched the investigation unfold from second-floor windows while others sat on doorway stoops as police remained on scene for hours.
The scene evolved an hour after officers responded to the 3100 block of Versailles Avenue. Emergency responders found a 47-year-old man, Robert Joyner, with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
The two shootings are unrelated.
But the situation shocked the Mon Valley community three weeks after a 32-year-old McKeesport police officer, Sean Sluganski, was shot and killed in the line of duty. And they marked McKeesport's third, fourth and fifth homicides of the year, surpassing the total of four recorded in all of 2022, according to county records.
“The hostility and bloodshed in our world today — not just here in the City of McKeesport – is more than a policing issue,” Mayor Michael Cherepko said in a Facebook post Wednesday. “It is a community issue, and that community is made up of every single one of us. Changing the circumstances that lead to these shootings — and curbing what I believe is an addiction to crime and violence — will only happen if we work together.”
Mr. Flewellen-Belton is being held at the Allegheny County Jail after being unable to post bail, court documents show. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 13.
He is also facing charges for a separate incident in Duquesne. He is charged with loitering and prowling at night, corruption of minors, theft of a motor vehicle and trespassing.
First Published: March 2, 2023, 3:35 p.m.
Updated: March 3, 2023, 10:37 p.m.
