Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey in a radio interview that aired Thursday doubled down on his approach to crime and violence, saying it will take a double-edged public safety and public health approach to save lives.
“This violence is picking up all throughout America,” Gainey said in an interview recorded Wednesday for WESA-FM. “In the city, we’ve seen a spike. We know we’re going to do all we can do to deal with it.”
The segment on “The Confluence” was the first time Gainey has spoken publicly since the Sunday shooting at an Airbnb party that killed two boys and injured nine other partygoers. Police have said around 200 people were in the North Side rental unit when the gunfire began. Five people were hurt trying to escape.
Gainey, who tested positive for covid-19 last week and has been recovering at home, said in a statement Sunday afternoon that his administration would call a meeting to introduce what he called the All In Citywide approach to public safety.
“I don’t know what another meeting can accomplish, but what we hope to accomplish is that we all continue to work together to ensure that we’re doing what’s necessary to save the lives of our youth and make sure we’re laser-focused on public safety,” Gainey said in the interview. “The one thing I do know for certain is that when you start bringing people together that really have a heart for our city, a heart for our youth, things have always changed.”
Gainey declined to go into detail on his administration’s All In Citywide approach, but the ultimate goal, he said, is “we want to reduce crime — period.”
