Gunfire claimed another member of a troubled North Side family this week.
Chris Michaux, whose young sister, Jolesa Barber, died in a gang-related shooting that shocked the city three years ago, had just learned that someone had shot their mother late Thursday when shots rang out again in the North Side.
"He was standing there, crying about his mom being shot," said Kenny Washington, whose Leland Street home was sprayed with bullets when gunmen shot Michaux in the head while he stood outside about 11:15 p.m. "He had just heard."
Michaux died hours later in Allegheny General Hospital, where his mother, Kimberly Wade, 45, remained in serious condition from her shooting. Investigators said someone shot Wade in the abdomen about 10:10 p.m. on Koerner Avenue, less than a mile away from Leland Street.
Homicide detectives believe the shootings of Michaux and Wade are "probably" related but don't know what prompted them, police Lt. Daniel M. Herrmann said last night. No one has been arrested.
Wade's family has been plagued by drugs, guns and gangs.
"Seeing them ... it breaks your heart," said Will Thompkins, a longtime family friend who stayed at the hospital overnight. "It literally breaks your heart."
A bullet struck Wade in the leg when gunmen fired 40 shots into a Brightridge Street home in January 2008, killing Barber, her 12-year-old daughter. Police said the shooting at Barber's sister's home was in retaliation for other shootings.
The shooters were part of the North Charles Street Crips gang, which was feuding with the Trey 8's, a gang to which some of Barber's teenage brothers belonged at the time, authorities said.
Michael Gist, 18, of the North Side pleaded guilty to third-degree murder this year, and a judge sentenced him to 30 to 60 years in prison as part of a plea deal in Barber's death. Another suspect, Anthony Wilson, was acquitted.
Wilson's attorney in that case, Wendy Williams, said he was at a casino on Thursday night and not involved with the shootings of Michaux and Wade.
Michaux was recently released from jail after pleading guilty to gun possession and resisting arrest charges. Richard Garland, executive director of the violence prevention group One Vision One Life, said Michaux might have been the target in the shooting that killed Barber because he was known to be involved with the Trey 8's.
"I guess that feud has just never been over," Garland said. "Whatever it was about, they just caught up with him. They were relentless in trying to find him, and they found him."
Police alerted officers to be on the lookout on Friday for a vehicle that may have been involved in Thursday night's shootings. The car is a black Chevrolet Impala with silver trim, tinted windows and chrome rims.
Bethany Washington, who was at the Leland Street home with her husband, said she feels lucky that none of her three grandchildren were hurt in the shooting. Washington and her husband said they knew nothing about the circumstances of the shooting.
"(The grandchildren) were making popcorn in the microwave, and all of a sudden, the house is getting shot up," Washington said.
Garland believes Wade was not the intended target in her shooting, which he called "turf-related."
"I feel for her," Garland said. "Now she has lost a son, too. That's a hard pill to swallow for any mother."
Wade has had trouble with the law. Police arrested her in October 2008 during a raid targeting narcotics trafficking. They charged her with four drug-related charges after they searched her home and found a pistol, small amounts of marijuana, heroin, a drug-measuring scale, narcotics packaging material, latex gloves and several cell phones believed to be used for dope trafficking.
Wade accepted a plea deal in April 2010 and pleaded guilty to two charges. Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen sentenced her to three months of probation, court records show.
Thompkins said Wade was putting her life and her family in order recently.
"She was still raising her kids," Thompkins said. "She was moving right along. She would take things day to day and was staying spiritually grounded."
Both Thompkins and Garland hope retaliation can be prevented.
"This wound is deep now," Garland said. "It's really deep."
