On the evening of January 28, 2008, 12-year-old Jolesa M. Barber was killed when assailants fired more than 40 rounds from an assault rifle and a pistol into a house on Brightridge Street in the Perry South neighborhood on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Jolesa was visiting her sister’s home; her mother, Kimberly Wade, was wounded in the leg. Law enforcement said the shooters were targeting Jolesa’s brothers and that the attack was believed connected to a gang feud. Jolesa was an honor student at A.J.

Rooney Middle School who loved basketball and wanted to be a lawyer. Two suspects were arrested: 15-year-old Michael Gist and 30-year-old Anthony Wilson. Michael Gist later pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and aggravated assault and received a 30 to 60 year sentence. Anthony Wilson went to a non-jury trial, offered an alibi with witnesses placing him elsewhere, and was found not guilty on the third anniversary of Jolesa’s death due to insufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

Does anyone have information about the Perry South shooting or memories of Jolesa’s life to share?