On a cold December night in Pittsburgh's Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar neighborhood, the life of 22-year-old Allen Bailey was tragically cut short. On December 4, 2017, Bailey, a Black male, was in the stairwell of an apartment building on Everton Street when gunfire erupted. When police responded to the scene at approximately 11:15 p.m., they discovered a chaotic and violent scene.
Bailey and another young man, 22-year-old Richard Harris Jr., were found deceased, both victims of fatal gunshot wounds.
The violence of that night was not limited to the two who lost their lives. Two other individuals, a male and a female, were also found in the stairwell, wounded but alive. They were transported to a local hospital in stable condition. The incident left the community shaken and searching for answers. In the immediate aftermath, investigators worked diligently, bringing in search dogs to help locate evidence and weapons, but the motive for the shooting remained elusive.
For Allen Bailey's family, the grief was compounded by a familiar and devastating pattern of loss. He was the second of his siblings to be killed by gun violence in less than a year, a painful reopening of a wound that had not yet begun to heal. Described by his sister as a devoted family man, Bailey's world revolved around his two young sons and his girlfriend. He had recently moved to the nearby suburb of Wilkinsburg and was reportedly at the Everton Street apartment complex to drop off his girlfriend at the time of the shooting.
Despite the initial investigation and the passage of time, the case has grown cold. In the days and weeks that followed the shooting, police appealed to the public for any information that might lead to a breakthrough in the case. However, no suspects have ever been publicly identified or arrested in connection with the murders of Allen Bailey and Richard Harris Jr. The investigation into their deaths remains ongoing, leaving their families with unanswered questions and a profound sense of loss.
