From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Shots fired at a house party in Pittsburgh early Sunday killed two 17-year-olds and wounded at least eight other people, police said.
Hundreds of people — the “vast majority” of them minors — had gathered at a short-term rental property when some kind of altercation occurred and shots were fired at around 12:30 a.m., Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert said at a midday news conference.
Schubert said there was gunfire both inside and outside the rental home, “and potentially back and forth." Bullet casings found at the scene indicating handguns and one rifle were used, he said, and police believe there were multiple shooters.
Two male gunshot victims died at the hospital. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified them as Jaiden Brown and Mathew Steffy-Ross, both 17.
Eight people were also being treated for gunshot wounds, and others were injured trying to escape, Schubert said, including two who broke bones after jumping from windows. One victim was injured after a car was “shot up,” Schubert said.
George Stevens said he was outside a bar next door to the rental property smoking a cigarette when he heard what he thought were fireworks, then saw kids fleeing.
Stevens told The Associated Press he let three girls hide in his vehicle and call their parents as bullets flew by. He said he saw someone inside the rental property holding a gun, as young people ran screaming and crying away from the building.
“It happened so quick,” he said. “It was just crazy. Kids were running everywhere.”
ShotSpotter indicated more than 90 rounds were fired, and Schubert said “we know there was a lot more than that between inside the structure and outside.” Police were processing evidence at as many as eight separate crime scenes spanning a few blocks around the rental home. Arriving officers found a “very chaotic” scene with injured victims, medics trying to treat them and people fleeing on foot and in vehicles, he said.
No arrests were immediately reported but Schubert said “it is our top priority to find out who did this and get them off the street." He said he couldn't comment on a possible motive, but he decried the number of illegal guns and too many people with access to them as well as the potent mixture of alcohol, drugs and guns.
“It’s heartbreaking; here we are at Easter and we have multiple families, two that won’t see a loved one,” Schubert said. “Others that are going to be — how can you even have a holiday when your child was involved in something traumatic like this?”
Allegheny General Health reported that seven people were treated at Allegheny General Hospital and one at Jefferson Hospital for gunshot wounds or other injuries, but officials declined to release their conditions or other information.
Pittsburgh Public Schools will impose a limited lockdown Monday “out of an abundance of caution,” Interim Superintendent Wayne Walters said in a statement, meaning only people with scheduled appointments will be allowed into the district’s buildings.
Neighbour Mitchell Wilston, 30, told the AP that he and his wife weren't at home during the shooting but before leaving saw the neighbourhood packed with people, with cars parked the wrong way down the street and a line outside the rented home.
“It was so obvious that there was going to be a problem — there was a line of 14-year-old kids trying to get into this place,” he said. The house has been rented for bachelorette parties or other events before, or for families of baseball players due to its proximity to the stadium, but no problems had occurred, he said.
In the morning, Wilston said he found his wife’s white car smeared with blood, possibly from someone trying to hide behind the vehicle.
Airbnb spokesperson Ben Breit confirmed the house was rented through the company. He said the booker, who would have had to be 18 or older per Airbnb rules, has received a lifetime ban. Breit's statement says the party was thrown without the knowledge of the host, whose listing banned parties and advertised an overnight noise curfew. Breit said Airbnb was cooperating with authorities.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey condemned the violence, which he attributed in part to a failure to get guns off the streets and provide adequate resources to communities. He said the city would call a meeting with local leaders to get feedback on a new, citywide approach to public safety.
“The time is now for us to move with a sense of urgency to bring justice to the victims and peace to our city,” Gainey, who is in isolation because of a recent COVID-19 exposure, said in a statement.
___
Associated Press journalists Ron Todt in Philadelphia and Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Careful attention to government statements and legislation is required to get a handle on the level of risk British Columbians’ information is under, as investigators probe multiple breaches under a continued barrage of attacks.
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
The Oscar-winning team behind the nearly US$6 billion blockbuster 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies is reuniting to produce two new films.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.