A 16-year-old is now behind bars in connection with the May 12 shooting in Downtown Pittsburgh's Market Square that left a 19-year-old man dead. The teen suspect was taken into custody this week and is being held in the county jail while detectives comb through surveillance footage and other evidence. City officials say the case falls under Act 33, a law that sends certain juvenile cases straight into the adult system, and the arrest has sharpened an already tense debate over safety and youth enforcement downtown.
Arrest and charges
According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, detectives from the Violence Prevention Unit and Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested 16-year-old B'Jauhn Dankins on June 4 in connection with the Market Square shooting. The blotter states that Dankins is charged with criminal homicide, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm by a minor, person not to possess, and tampering with evidence, and that he was taken to the Allegheny County Jail. City officials note the case is being treated as an Act 33 matter, so prosecutors are moving forward in adult court.
What happened in Market Square
Officers responded to the 200 block of Forbes Avenue just after 11 p.m. on May 12, where they found a 19-year-old man suffering from two gunshot wounds to the chest, as reported by WPXI. Police applied chest seals at the scene, and the victim was rushed into surgery, but he died the following morning. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner later identified him as Terryll Little of Duquesne. Witnesses told investigators the victim had been involved in an altercation with a man he knew shortly before the shots were fired.
Downtown safety measures under scrutiny
The killing occurred less than three weeks after Market Square officially reopened and after downtown partners rolled out a rule that anyone under 18 must be accompanied by someone over 21 on busy nights, according to CBS Pittsburgh. That policy has split opinion. Von Madden of the youth-outreach group AIM told the station it was designed to address large groups of teens gathering in the area, while Councilwoman Barb Warwick said, "Not only does this feel highly unwelcoming to families with teens, but it also seems questionable in terms of enforcement." City leaders maintain the rule is intended to rein in disruptive crowds, not to shut out typical visitors to the square.
Legal consequences
Because Dankins is 16, prosecutors have charged him under Act 33, which moves certain violent juvenile cases into adult criminal court, the city blotter notes. Reporting from the Pittsburgh City Paper explains that Act 33 automatically sends many offenses committed by 15- to 17-year-olds into adult court when a weapon is involved, a system that advocates say has led to stark racial disparities in who is tried as an adult. Defense attorneys can sometimes ask a judge to move a case back to juvenile court through a process known as decertification, but for now, the teen faces adult penalties if he is convicted of homicide.
What's next
Dankins remains in the Allegheny County Jail while Violent Crime Unit detectives continue to review surveillance footage and interview witnesses, as WPXI reported. Prosecutors will decide on the formal charges and whether the case ultimately continues in adult court. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Pittsburgh Police as the investigation moves forward.
