A one-round gunfire-detection alert and a stabbing just hours apart at the same Elliott apartment building have led to felony charges against a Pittsburgh couple. Police say the first call came in around 11:15 p.m. Thursday on the 1100 block of Lakewood Street, and by just after 1 a.m. Friday, officers were back at the same address — this time for a woman bleeding from stab wounds.
According to WPXI, officers responding to the gunshot alert found 32-year-old Andre Reese walking down the steps of the apartment building. Police detained him and, during the encounter, say they found a handgun along with an apparent bullet hole in the front pocket of his hoodie. Investigators also discovered a bullet hole in a nearby apartment.
A Gun That Allegedly Fired Inside a Pocket
Reese allegedly told police the gun had accidentally discharged while still in his pocket, per the outlet's report. Investigators say the bullet reportedly traveled through two doors and a set of steps before striking a wall in a room where someone had been sleeping. Police said Reese appeared to be under the influence of alcohol at the time, though he was not reported to have suffered any injuries himself.
Reese was arrested following the gunfire incident and taken to the Allegheny County Jail. He was charged with discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and recklessly endangering another person, and the station's report says a judge denied him bail.
Pennsylvania's Felony Threshold for Gunfire Into Homes
Under Pennsylvania law, knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly discharging a firearm into an occupied structure is graded as a third-degree felony, according to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2707.1. The statute defines an occupied structure broadly, covering any structure, vehicle, or place adapted for overnight accommodation or business — whether or not someone is actually inside at the time, per the same law.
Hours after Reese's arrest on the gun charge, the same address was the scene of a stabbing. A woman told police that Reese's girlfriend, identified as 30-year-old Shaye Elizabeth Gaetano, showed up outside the apartment and stabbed her during a fight before driving away, the station's report states. Medics took the woman to a hospital, where she was treated for stab wounds to the armpit and abdomen and reported to be in stable condition.
Warrant, Arrest and Charges for Gaetano
Police issued a warrant for Gaetano following the stabbing report, and she was arrested Friday. She faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, and possessing instruments of crime, and a judge denied her bail as well. Pennsylvania classifies simple assault as generally a second-degree misdemeanor, subject to listed exceptions, according to 18 Pa.C.S. § 2701 — though the more serious aggravated assault charge against Gaetano reflects the severity police allege in the attack.
Gaetano is identified in the report as Reese's girlfriend, tying the two overnight incidents at the Lakewood Street address together, though investigators have not detailed any further connection between the gunfire and the stabbing beyond their shared location and timing. The outcome of either case has not yet been reported.
