On Sunday, September 8, 2019, 16-year-old Alexander Alman was fatally shot at a residence in Pittsburgh’s Duquesne Heights neighborhood. Alman was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead in the early hours of September 9, 2019 from a gunshot wound to the head. The death was later ruled a criminal homicide.

Police say Alman had been at the home of 18-year-old Michael Anthony Hartwick Jr. The two teenagers were reportedly handling a handgun and an airsoft BB gun and were pointing weapons at one another; investigators allege the handgun discharged, striking Alman. Neighbors reported panic and one teen running from the house for help. Hartwick was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and a gun violation; he told investigators he did not know the gun was loaded and later waived a preliminary hearing.

Alman was a junior at Brashear High School; the district provided grief counselors after his death and his family spoke publicly about their loss and concerns over youths’ access to firearms. Does anyone have information about the events at the Duquesne Heights residence that afternoon?