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PITTSBURGH EDITION

GOING GREEN Chargers TE Ladarius Green joins Steelers as Heath Millers heir apparent C14

Jerry Shelton

Brittany Powell

Chanetta Powell

Tina Shelton

Shada Mahone

A MOTHERS GRIEF

WILKINSBURG SHOOTINGS LEAVE 5 ADULTS,

UNBORN BABY DEAD, 11 KIDS WITHOUT A PARENT
by

JUSTIN MERRIMAN | TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Right now I have no choice but to be strong, because I have grandkids that lost their parents that I have to be strong for and live for,
said Jessica Shelton during a news conference at Lighthouse Church in Mt. Oliver.

Close-knit family struggles for answers

by

ELIZAbETH bEHRMAN

n a few chaotic minutes, Jessica Shelton lost

three of her grown children and an unborn grandson in an unthinkable shooting
spree.
Yet another son clung to life at a Pittsburgh
hospital with bullets lodged in his body.
It just breaks my heart, Shelton said
through tears Thursday during a news conference at Lighthouse Church in Mt. Oliver.

Barely hours after the

massacre, the grieving
mother described how
her close-knit family
frequently got together
for cookouts when
the weather was nice.
Wednesday was unseasonably warm and sunny,
so Jessica Shelton said
her children, nieces and
nephews called each
other and made plans for
an evening barbecue.
They gathered at her
daughter Brittany

Powells house in
Wilkinsburg. Her son,
LaMont Powell, manned
the grill.
The family spent the
evening playing cards
and dominoes, swapping stories and telling
jokes, while some of their
young children played in
the yard.
Yesterday started out
to be a beautiful day for
us, Shelton said. Everything was just perfect.
FAMILY A5

STEPHANIE STRASBURG | TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Shelton (left) cries along Franklin Avenue early Thursday in the aftermath
of the mass shooting at a family cookout.

INSIDE
Neighborhood: On a quiet street
where everybody knows each other,
residents try to make sense of it all. A4

Mass shootings: The list of fatal gun

violence across the region unfortunately
is a lengthy one. A4

Overdose victims increasingly white women

Drug death rate among

female users outstrips
statewide pace, study finds
by

WES VENTEICHER

Young white women are dying at

a higher rate than other drug users
amid a sustained statewide surge in
overdoses, according to a new study
from the University of Pittsburgh
Graduate School of Public Health.
Death rates in Pennsylvania increased 17-fold among women and
14-fold among all users from 1979
through 2014, the study showed, a

WEATHER 59 34
Turning sunny, cooler
today; clear tonight
Details, A8

period when opioids became more

popular and heroin spread from the
states biggest cities to less populous
areas.
Researchers dont know why the
increase is greatest among women
but hope the data will let policymakers and law enforcement agencies
shape efforts to stop the trend, said
Jeanine Buchanich, a research assistant professor of biostatistics at
Pitt Public Health, who worked on
the study. The study was published
Thursday in research journal PLOS
ONE.
I dont know that theres any one
kind of overwhelming theory of why

INDEX

Vol. 128 No.38

Five sections
52 pages

Advice D7
Bridge D7
Business B7
City&Region B1

its occurring, but the data really

are showing that (white women) are
dying more rapidly at younger ages
than white males or black males or
females, Buchanich said.
She said women tend to become
serious addicts more quickly than
men, possibly a result of experienced drug users introducing new
female users to strong drugs. Women
may be more hesitant than men to
seek treatment if they believe they
will be separated from their children, she said.
About 825 women ages 15 to 64
died of drug overdoses in the state in
OVERDOSES A5

Classified E1
Comics D8
Crossword D7
Editorials A7

Financial B8
Horoscope D7
Living D1
Lotteries A8

MEGAN GUZA

More than a dozen friends

and family gathered Wednesday in Brittany Powells backyard in Wilkinsburg, taking
advantage of the unseasonably warm March night.
If anyone noticed the two
gunmen quietly cornering the
group in the fenced yard, it
was too late to avoid at least
49 shots they pumped into the
crowd.
Five adults and an unborn
child were killed and three
more adults were wounded,
two critically.
Authorities called the shooting just before 11 p.m. Wednesday one of the deadliest
in Allegheny County history
an execution. Police said
Thursday they have no suspects, no motive.
A spokesman for Allegheny County District Attorney
Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said
investigators are looking into
several theories, including
the possibility that one of the
wounded victims LaMont
Powell was the intended
targeted.
Zappala said drugs have not
been ruled out as a motive,
though no drugs were found in
the house. Retaliation remains
a possible motive, too.
It was very calculated
very methodical, said
Zappala, who toured the scene.
He said the slayings were the
worst hes seen in his 18 years
as prosecutor.
The county Medical Examiners Office identified the victims as Jerry Shelton, 35; Tina
Shelton, 37; Brittany Powell,
27; Chanetta Powell, 25; and
Shada Mahone, 26. Chanetta
Powells unborn boy also died.
The Powells and Jerry Shelton
were siblings. Tina Shelton
was their cousin and Mahone
a close family friend.
LaMont Powell, 24, remained at UPMC Mercy in
critical condition Thursday,
according to his mother, Jessica Shelton, who lost three of
her six children and a niece.
She said LaMont Powell was
shot in the neck, chest, lower
back and hand, and more surgery is scheduled for Friday.
Another man, whose name
was not released, also remained in critical condition,
officials said. A woman, who
police did not identify, was
treated and released.
Authorities described a
WILKINSBURG A4

Authorities obtain files with

Islamic State member data
Documents could help
in prosecution of fighters
who joined, returned home
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BERLIN Thousands of files

have surfaced with personal data
on members of the Islamic State
group documents that might
help authorities track down and
prosecute foreign fighters who
returned home after joining the
extremists or identify those who

Movies D3
Obituaries B4
Sports C1
Television D6

recruited them in the first place.

Germanys federal criminal
police said Thursday they are in
possession of the files and believe
they are authentic.
The announcement came after
Britains Sky News reported it
had obtained 22,000 Islamic State
files that detail the real names of
fighters for the group, where they
were from, their telephone numbers and even names of those who
sponsored and recruited them.

ISIS A5

2016