3 shot in Pittsburgh's Hill District

Three people were injured in a shooting Tuesday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, police said.

The city’s ShotSpotter notification system alerted police to 26 rounds fired near the intersection of Mahon and Watt streets in the Middle Hill around 4:40 p.m., according to police spokesman Maurice Matthews.

Two men were in stable condition and one was in critical condition, police said. Investigators estimated all were in the 20s.

The crime scene stretched several blocks, with police marking dozens of shell casings in a grassy area near Watt and Wylie Avenue. One of the injured men was found behind a home on Wylie and another about eight houses down on a front porch.

Cmdr. John Fisher said at least three guns were recovered, and a handgun could be seen on the street against the curb in front of the grassy area where many of the casings were found.

Two homes and two vehicles on Wylie were also struck by gunfire, Fisher said.

One home was hit at least six times.

Several people were inside one of the homes when the shooting started.

“From what they told our officers, they were lying down on their living room floor watching TV when the gunfire erupted,” Fisher said. “For all intents and purposes, that probably saved their lives, or at least prevented them from being shot.”

Investigators said it’s not clear how many shooters were involved, nor did they have a description of any suspects.

4th shooting in about a week

Tuesday’s incident marked the fourth shooting in just over seven days in the Hill District.

On April 4, three people were wounded in a late-night shooting on Webster Avenue in the Middle Hill. At least eight rounds were fired just before 12:45 a.m. Two men were taken to the hospital in stable condition, and a third man later arrived with a gunshot wound to his foot.

On April 10, one man was injured and another killed in a shooting in nearby Bedford Dwellings. Kane Hines, 19, was transported from the scene of the shooting, which happened about 10:10 p.m., and later died.

A day later, a man walked in to a hospital about 11:45 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the groin, police said. He said the shooting happened in the Hill District but would not provide further details.