Brentwood man charged in shooting that wounded boy, man in Hill District

Jeff Himler, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
Updated ·2 min read
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Sep. 15—Pittsburgh police arrested a Brentwood man for allegedly shooting a man and a 3-year-old boy in the city's Hill District Wednesday night during a domestic dispute.

Davont Spencer-Johnson, 24, was arraigned Thursday on two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault, one count of robbery, four counts of endangering the welfare of a child and eight counts of recklessly endangering another person. Spencer-Johnson was placed in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond, pending a Sept. 21, preliminary hearing.

Police said they responded to reports of shots fired at about 9:45 p.m., inside the Centre Plaza Apartments in the 2800 block of Centre Avenue.

Spencer-Johnson ran out of the building screaming, "My son was shot in the head," according to court documents,

The 3-year-old boy suffered a grazing gunshot wound to the head in the apartment of Spencer-Johnson's sister and was taken to UPMC Presbyterian in stable condition, police said. During a domestic dispute, the same gunshot wounded the thumb of the sister's boyfriend, who also was taken to a hospital in stable condition, police said.

Spencer-Johnson slapped his sister in the face, and the boyfriend then punched or pushed Spencer-Johnson, who pulled a Glock pistol from his satchel, court documents state. Witness and victim statements indicate the shot occurred as Spencer-Johnson and his sister's boyfriend struggled over a handgun. The gun fired after the men wrestled over the weapon and fell to the ground, police said.

The dispute developed among several adults at the apartment, after Spencer-Johnson's sister expressed concern whether she was doing the right thing to help stop another of the brother's children, who had begun to "fuss and cry," according to court documents.

A city Special Weapons And Tactics team was called in to clear the building once residents were evacuated. Five other children, age 5 and younger, were present in the apartment at the

time of the shooting, but were not injured, according to police.

Police said they ended an interview with Spencer-Johnson when he indicated he wanted to have an attorney present.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .