In the early hours of Sunday, April 26, 2026, the quiet of a Duquesne neighborhood was shattered by a fatal shooting inside a home on South Sixth Street. Robert Neal, a man whose age has not been publicly disclosed, was found dead on the dining room floor, the victim of a single gunshot wound to the head. The tranquility of the morning was pierced by this act of violence, leaving behind a scene that first responders would soon uncover.
Responding to a report of a shooting at approximately 1:30 a.m., Duquesne police officers arrived at the residence to a grim confession. At the front door, they were met by 51-year-old Diane Hopkins, a resident of Duquesne. In a startling admission, she immediately told the officers, "I shot him, I shot him," and gestured toward the dining room where Neal's body lay. Her words hung in the air, a stark and immediate acknowledgment of the violence that had just transpired.
Inside the home, the scene corroborated Hopkins' statement. Officers discovered Neal on the floor with a visible gunshot wound. A Smith & Wesson. 22 caliber pistol was found on the dining room table, a silent testament to the deadly event. Investigators later secured a search warrant for the home and recovered a spent. 22 caliber cartridge casing near the front entryway and a bullet from the floor between the living and dining rooms. The connection between Hopkins and Neal has not been made clear in initial reports.
Following her on-scene confession, Diane Hopkins was taken into custody and has been charged with one count of criminal homicide. She was arraigned on Sunday morning and, due to the nature of the charges, was denied bail. Hopkins is currently being held at the Allegheny County Jail, awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 8. The investigation into the circumstances that led to the fatal shooting is ongoing, as the community is left to grapple with the sudden and violent death of Robert Neal.
