Arnold man charged in shooting 3 at Lower Burrell baby shower for his unborn child, police say

Tawnya Panizzi And Joe Napsha, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Sep. 19—An Arnold man at a baby shower for his expected child is accused of shooting three people with a .9 mm handgun Saturday night at the Kinloch Fire Hall in Lower Burrell during an argument over whether he would transport gifts, authorities said.

The suspect, Isiah J. Hampton, 25, of Victoria Avenue, Arnold, was arrested near the fire hall and was charged by Lower Burrell police with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of recklessly endangering another person. Hampton was arraigned Sunday morning via video before Unity District Judge Michael Mahady and remains in Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bond pending a Sept. 28 hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec.

Police found the suspect within minutes, and he surrendered without incident, Lower Burrell police Chief John Marhefka said. He had left the fire hall with the mother of his unborn child, police said.

The victims are a 23-year-old man, a 19-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy, he said. One victim was shot in his torso, a woman was shot in her leg and the boy had been shot in the buttocks, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case against Hampton. Two of the victims were taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and the other to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville.

Marhefka said none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.

Police said the shooting occurred after Hampton got into an argument with a woman who wanted him to transport the gifts from the baby shower, according to the criminal complaint. Hampton allegedly became abusive toward the woman, and she slapped his face, prompting the suspect to shove her backwards.

Three men intervened to stop Hampton, who had fallen to the ground, when he allegedly pulled his gun and shot one man in the torso and then the teenager. As others tried to get the gun from Hampton, police said a woman, not the one Hampton was arguing with, was grazed in her leg by a bullet.

Police said in the complaint that Hampton allegedly said the third person was shot unintentionally as others tried to take the gun from his hand.

Others were able to wrestle the gun from the suspect and place it on the bar, away from Hampton, police said.