In the early morning hours of a Thursday in July 2015, the life of 20-year-old Donald Harris Jr. was tragically cut short on a street in Pittsburgh's Hill District. Shortly before 12:45 a.m. on July 16th, shots rang out in the 200 block of Lombard Street, prompting a police response to a chaotic scene. When officers arrived, they found Harris and an 18-year-old companion suffering from gunshot wounds.
Harris, an East Liberty resident, and his friend had been visiting a home in the
neighborhood. The two were in the process of getting into a vehicle when they were ambushed by an unidentified man who approached them on foot and opened fire. Harris, who was getting into the driver's seat, was struck multiple times. In a desperate attempt to flee, he ran approximately 30 feet before collapsing in the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His 18-year-old passenger was also struck and rushed to a nearby hospital in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
Pittsburgh police homicide detectives immediately began their investigation, examining the car that was riddled with bullets and canvassing the neighborhood for any witnesses who might have seen or heard something that could lead to the gunman. In the initial days and months following the shooting, police reported that they were still working to piece together the events of that fatal morning. A November 2015 report on homicides in the city noted that no arrests had been made in Harris's case, and the investigation was still ongoing.
Despite the initial investigation and appeals for information from the public, there have been no subsequent news reports indicating that a suspect has been identified, arrested, or charged in the shooting death of Donald Harris Jr. The case, born of a sudden act of violence on a summer night, appears to have grown cold, leaving a resolution for Harris and his family elusive. His death was one of several unsolved homicides in Pittsburgh that year, a stark reminder of the enduring pain and unanswered questions that violent crime leaves in its wake.
