Lamont Johns loved his son but was worried about some of the teen's friends and warned him to stay away from those he considered “bad seeds.”

His words went unheeded and Brandon Lee Lamont Johns, who turned 18 last month, was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon in the vestibule of his grandmother's home in the Brinton Manor Apartments in Braddock Hills. His bullet-riddled body was found by his mother, Christie Cosentino, shortly after 4 p.m.

“I wish I could have taken that bullet for him,” said his grandmother, Eleanor Cosentino.

Three young men, including one who was seen bleeding and clutching his stomach, were spotted running from the area, said Allegheny County Police Assistant Superintendent James Morton.

Twenty-five minutes later, a silver Dodge Avenger pulled up at UPMC McKeesport and a man with a gunshot wound to the stomach was helped into the emergency room by a companion as the car drove away, Morton said.

That victim was flown to UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland and was undergoing surgery on Tuesday night. His companion was being questioned by county homicide detectives.

Police throughout the area were asked to be on the lookout for the Dodge Avenger.

“It appears to be a drug deal,” Morton said of the shooting.

Lamont Johns said he believes his son, who was raised in Brinton Manor but moved with his mother several months ago to North Braddock, was shot because some of his friends were “very jealous” of him.

“My son was very well-liked, very sociable and very popular with the girls,” Johns said.

Brandon Johns, who graduated in June from Boyce Campus Middle College High School in Monroeville, was shot in the neck about 18 months ago in Wilkinsburg. Morton said there is no indication the shootings are related.

“I said please stay away from certain people. I don't know a lot of his friends. Some I didn't like. Some are bad seeds,” said Lamont Johns, who was shot and wounded on March 7, 2011, in a road rage incident outside Allegheny County Police headquarters.

Michael Hasch is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7820 or mhasch@tribweb.com.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---