Crime & Safety

Edgewood Police Respond to Several Nearby Shootings

Here's a look at Edgewood police reports.

Aug. 1

  • Edgewood police assisted Wilkinsburg officers with the report of multiple shots fired near Hunter Park in Wilkinsburg. Police started to pursue a vehicle that fled the area with no lights on. The suspects threw a gun from the vehicle and stopped on Montier Street. Both men were taken into custody and the gun recovered. Police found no shooting victims nearby.
  • Edgewood officers assisted Wilkinsburg police with a possible burglary in progress in the 1000 block of South Avenue. Police checked the first floor and located a small stash of marijuana out in the open. The homeowner asked police to leave. The marijuana was turned over to Wilkinsburg police.

Aug. 3

  • Edgewood police assisted Wilkinsburg on a call to the 500 block of Mifflin Avenue where there was a report of burglary in progress. The K-9 dog from Forest Hills searched the building with no results. The homeowner arrived later and provided police with a list of the missing items.
  • A Lexus with a New York license plate was recovered in the 1100 block of Savannah Avenue. The vehicle had been stolen in the City of Pittsburgh.
  • A man stole $33 worth of socks from the in Edgewood Towne Centre and fled. He was later located in Swissvale, arrested, cited and released.

Aug. 4

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  • A purse was stolen from a vehicle parked overnight in the 500 block of Greendale Avenue. The owner told police the doors were not locked.
  • Randy Wooten, 25, of Swissvale, was charged with retail theft after stealing a wristwatch and MP3 player from a store. He was taken into custody on Monongahela Avenue near a gas station. He was cited with disorderly conduct and retail theft, and then released.
  • A woman inside a Swissvale pizza shop threatened the owner and tried to jump over the counter to hit him. An officer escorted her from the scene.

Aug. 5

  • A tan Buick was struck on the driver's side between 10 and 11:30 p.m. while parked on McKelvey Avenue. Shards of plastic from marker lights on the offending vehicle were in the street. Police said the suspects car might have been white or light colored.
  • A woman walked out of the in Edgewood Towne Centre with more than $100 worth of food. An investigation is ongoing.
  • A resident of the 100 block of West Hutchinson Avenue reported a raccoon in a garbage can. Police moved the can to the middle of the yard and knocked it over. The raccoon fled the scene.
  • Edgewood police assisted Wilkinsburg Police Department with the report of a male shot in the chest in the 1000 block of Franklin Avenue. Four suspects were involved and they all fled on foot.

Aug. 7

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  • Car and house keys were reported stolen from a locker at in Edgewood Towne Centre.
  • A verbal altercation broke out between two men in the 1700 block of South Braddock Avenue and one of them brandished a machete. The man, Carl Lewis, was charged with harassment, disorderly conduct, simple assault and make/sell/repair/use a prohibited offensive weapon. 
  • An animal was left locked in a vehicle in front of Burton's Total Pet in Edgewood Towne Centre. The owner was located and a citation issued

Aug. 8

  • A four-door, dark green, 2005 Jeep Liberty was stolen from in front of Planet Fitness.
  • A cement truck struck an overhead utility wire, causing damage to the downspout of a residence in the 100 block of Lincoln Avenue.
  • A hit-and-run driver sideswiped the whole length of a truck while it was parked in the 1300 block of South Braddock Avenue about 1 p.m.
  • Edgewood and Swissvale police assisted Wilkinsburg police in responding to a report of a male shot in the 1100 block of Pitt Street. A man transported for a gunshot wound later died at a local trauma hospital.

Aug. 9

  • A man was caught stealing two 32-inch RCA televisions from Kmart. The man, identified as Howard Clayton of Pittsburgh, was charged with retail theft. He was transported to the Allegheny County Jail after police discovered an outstanding warrant from the sheriff's department.
  • Edgewood police assisted Braddock Hills, and other area police and agencies, when a crowd of about 300 people attended a vigil at Brinton Manor Apartments for . The crowd turned on WTAE-TV personnel, according to the police report, and began throwing items at the crew. Several small fights also broke out prior to officers arriving, the report said.
  • A short in an electrical fuse box caused the front end of the Giant Eagle in Edgewood Towne Centre to fill with smoke. Edgewood police assisted Edgewood Volunteer Fire Department but no fire was discovered. 

Aug. 11

  • Robert Runatz, 28, of Swissvale was cited for public drunkenness after police found him slumped over the sidewalk on the corner of Edgewood Avenue and Gordon Street. Police said he had sustained injuries due to a fall while intoxicated. He was treated by Eastern Area EMS at the scene.
  • Edgewood police assisted Swissvale police with a possible burglary in progress in the 2200 block of Hawthorne Avenue.

Aug. 12

  • Edgewood police assisted officers from Swissvale when a man with a rifle in the 7900 block of Graff Avenue reportedly had behavior changes after taking medicine. A woman at the scene had told him she would call the police, and then he threatened to shoot officers in the face if they responded. A SWAT team and police from Swissvale, Edgewood, Wilkinsburg and Braddock set up a perimeter. The man eventually came out of his house unarmed and uncooperative. He was taken to Western Psychiatric Hospital for treatment.
  • Chelsea Rankin, 23, of McKeesport, was charged with false identification to law enforcement, prohibited acts (a small amount of marijuana), driver's required to be licensed and use of multiple-beam road lighting equipment following a traffic stop on South Braddock Avenue.

Aug. 13

  • A man was transported to Allegheny County Jail after an incident of retail theft on Aug. 13.
  • Edgewood police assisted Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh police departments at the scene of a home invasion in the 7700 block of Tuscarora Street in Regent Square. The police report indicates that two black males kicked in the front door of the home and pointed shotguns at the residents.


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