In the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh on the night of November 13, 2019, a dispute over the custody of a child tragically escalated, leading to the death of 26-year-old Kierra Eddisha Harris. The altercation began when Harris got into an argument with the woman who had custody of one of her children. That woman then contacted a friend who was dating Darryl Barnett, and the couple arrived at the scene on Kelly and Collier streets.
The argument intensified into a physical fight
between Harris and the other woman. Another man, Lavon Sizemore, who was with Harris, attempted to get her to leave, but he also became involved in the altercation. At some point during the confrontation, Barnett opened fire, shooting Harris in the neck and chest, and Sizemore in the neck. Police were alerted to the gunshots around 10:40 p.m. by the ShotSpotter detection system.
When officers arrived, they found Sizemore on the ground next to a vehicle; he was pronounced dead at the scene. Harris was discovered nearby in the street with at least one gunshot wound and was in critical condition. While being transported to UPMC Presbyterian, Harris went into cardiac arrest. In a tragic turn of events, the ambulance carrying her collided with another ambulance, causing both vehicles to flatten their tires. A third ambulance was dispatched to the crash site to continue her transport to the hospital, where she was ultimately pronounced dead at 11:37 p.m. Officials stated that the collision did not interrupt the medical treatment she was receiving.
Following the shooting, the suspect, Darryl Barnett, fled the scene. He was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service in Philadelphia on January 27, 2020. Barnett was charged with criminal homicide and firearms violations. In July 2021, Barnett, then 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and two firearms counts. In exchange for his guilty plea, he was sentenced to serve 15 to 30 years in a state prison.
