Tips sought in 1996 gunfire that killed teen
Pittsburgh homicide Detective J.R. Smith is hopeful that investigators will get the tip that has eluded them in the search for the man who gunned down a Spring Garden teen 10 years ago.
Patrick Gorny was killed July 30, 1996, as he sat on a set of steps on Salter Way with a friend, Smith said.
According to police:
Gorny and Michael Concannon, 16, were longtime friends and had hung around each other's homes in Spring Garden most of the day of July 29 and then drove around the neighborhood with a friend of Concannon's.
They returned to Concannon's Salter Way home and went outside to sit on the steps about 2:45 a.m. on July 30, Smith said. They briefly left to walk to a nearby fire station to get candy and drinks from a vending machine outside, police said.
As the two were talking on the steps, a metallic-green, four-door car with two men inside drove past, turned around in a lot and came back down Salter Way. The passenger got out and pointed a gun at the teens and demanded they empty their pockets.
Concannon had only cigarettes and some change in his pockets and Gorny had little else, Smith said. When they threw the contents of their pockets on the ground, the gunman started to yell because they didn't have much money, Smith said.
He fired four or five shots at them and jumped back into the car as the driver sped off.
Concannon, who was shot in the chest, got up and ran home to call police.
He was critically injured but eventually recovered. Gorny, who was shot in the chest and left bicep, died at the scene, police said. Investigators recovered several .38-caliber shell casings from underneath Gorny's body.
The shooter was described as a black man in his early 20s, with a muscular build, dark complexion and hair in long braids.
"There were witnesses in the area, and we really need someone with information on the suspect to come forward so we can close this case," Smith said.
Additional Information:
Details
Cold case files
Twice a month, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police will publish details of unsolved homicides.
Anyone with information can call the main city police number, 412-323-7800, or Detectives J.R. Smith and Scott Evans or Sgt. Timothy Westwood at 412-323-7161. Callers can remain anonymous. An anonymous tip sheet also is available at any city police station, or can be downloaded at here and dropped off at any station.
Of the 15 cold cases featured in this column since March, an arrest has been made in one. Daniel T. Carnevale, 42, formerly of Bloomfield, was arrested Aug. 12 in Placerville, Calif., and charged with setting a January 1993 fire in Bloomfield that killed three people and injured two others. Police said a witness to the fire read the Cold Case Files article in the Tribune-Review and contacted detectives with information that led to Carnevale's arrest.
