Mayes addresses recent shooting in Garfield
Resources from Public Safety Department’s Office of Community Health & Safety are available to Garfield residents.
Allegheny County Delegation August 29, 2023 | 3:57 PM
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 29 – After Wednesday’s shooting in Garfield, state Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Allegheny, advocated for legislation to prevent gun violence and address the housing crisis so that residents of Garfield may heal from the shooting.
The shooting, which occurred on the 4800 block of Broad Street and North Mathilda Street, began Wednesday, Aug. 23. While barricaded in a house on Broad Street, William Hardison Jr. shot thousands of rounds after seven Allegheny County deputy sheriffs attempted to evict Hardison. After six hours, Emergency Medical Services pronounced Hardison dead at 5:08 p.m.
“With gun violence increasing all across the country and this shooting so close to home, we must continuously work to prevent gun violence, address the housing crisis and the effects of gentrification, and allocate mental health resources, so that we may never endure such trauma in our neighborhood, or in our country, ever again,” Mayes said. “Redlining, which creates barriers for people of color to own a home, and gentrification are intertwined in Pittsburgh’s housing crisis. We must address these systemic issues as we continue to support our neighbors in Garfield. That way we may repair the damage caused by this shooting and prevent gun violence.”
The city of Pittsburgh will provide resources from the Public Safety Department’s Office of Community Health & Safety to support Garfield residents in the aftermath of the Garfield shooting, she noted.
“Thanks to our federal, state and local law enforcement officers, the residents of Garfield are now safe,” Mayes said. “While one of our deputy sheriffs suffered a minor injury during the shooting, we protected Garfield from harm’s way.”
Residents of the 24th Legislative District may call Mayes’ district office at 412-665-5502 for trauma-informed resources available in response to the Garfield shooting.