In the summer of 2024, the life of a 27-year-old Black man, Terrell Da’Chaon Blanks, was abruptly and violently cut short on a sidewalk in Clairton, Pennsylvania. Known to his friends and family as 'Bixie,' Terrell was remembered for his sense of humor and his passion for writing music. A resident of nearby Homestead, he was a graduate of Steel Valley High School and worked as a skilled laborer.
His life, however, took a tragic turn on the evening of July 12th.
On that Friday night, at approximately 10:12 p.m., emergency services were dispatched to the 900 block of Madison Avenue following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Terrell Blanks suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Another individual who was with Blanks at the time sustained injuries from shrapnel. The moments leading up to the fatal shooting were captured by a motion-activated Ring security camera. The footage showed an individual approaching Blanks from behind, uttering the chilling words 'Peek-a-Boo' followed by a profanity, and then shooting him in the head. The audio from the camera recorded a total of four gunshots.
In the days that followed, the Allegheny County Police launched a thorough investigation. Detectives utilized witness interviews and analyzed surveillance footage from the area, which ultimately led them to two individuals. On July 25, 2024, authorities arrested 27-year-old Thomas Walker V of North Braddock and 25-year-old Ciera Clifton of McKeesport. A crucial piece of evidence came from police body camera footage from an unrelated car accident involving the pair that occurred the day after the shooting, which helped to confirm their identities when compared with the surveillance video from the scene of the crime.
Thomas Walker V was charged with criminal homicide, possession of a prohibited firearm, criminal conspiracy, and recklessly endangering another person. Ciera Clifton was charged with criminal conspiracy. Both suspects were taken into custody and are being held in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting their preliminary hearings. The arrests brought a semblance of closure to a community shaken by the senseless violence that ended the life of Terrell Blanks.
