On September 17, 2016, 17-year-old Daija McCall was tragically shot and killed in Pittsburgh's Homewood neighborhood. The incident occurred during what authorities described as a drug deal gone wrong. McCall, a young African American girl, was meeting three men for a purported drug sale, but the men planned to rob her. During the confrontation, McCall fired three shots, while the other three guns fired eight shots.
Tests later revealed that the substance she was carrying did not contain any drugs.
The investigation led to the arrest of 20-year-old Douglas Lockett Jr., who was charged with second-degree murder and robbery. Lockett was convicted of the charges and sentenced to a mandatory life term without the possibility of parole on July 16, 2018. Defense attorney Randall McKinney argued that Lockett did not plan the robbery and that McCall was shot by someone else, but the jury rejected this defense.
Another individual, Steven Cansler, 18, was also charged in connection with McCall's death, but a trial date had not yet been set at the time of Lockett's sentencing. The case highlighted the dangers of drug-related violence and the tragic consequences that can result from such encounters.
The loss of Daija McCall was a devastating event for her family and the community, and the legal proceedings brought some measure of justice, though nothing can truly compensate for the loss of a young life.
