Prosecutors have dropped an attempted homicide charge against a man arrested for a daylight shooting in a Pittsburgh neighborhood business district, but he will face trial for aggravated assault and a firearms count.
Amirre Brown, 20, on Tuesday waived his preliminary hearing in a Downtown Pittsburgh courtroom.
Pittsburgh police said Brown, who lives in the city’s Overbrook neighborhood, shot a man twice in the abdomen on March 17 around 4:20 p.m. in Brookline.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office declined to say what specifically led to the decision to drop the charge.
“Because it’s a pending case, all we can say is it was a decision based on the circumstances,” First Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Spangler wrote in an email.
The incident took place in the 800 block of Brookline Boulevard near Flatbush Avenue in the heart of the neighborhood’s business district.
Brown turned himself in a week later.
Police have not publicly identified the victim, who first responders took to UPMC Mercy hospital that afternoon in serious condition.
Witnesses said they saw two suspects running up Flatbush Avenue after the shooting, police said.
Cameras at a public housing high-rise and a Ring-style camera captured images of the two men, according to a criminal complaint.
Police said the men’s clothing in both videos matched witness descriptions.
The men discarded several items as they fled from the crime scene, including a snack-sized bag of Rice Krispies and a bottle of Stella Artois beer, the complaint said.
Police said they recovered multiple fingerprints from the discarded items. At least one of those prints matched Brown’s, according to police.
Brown remained Thursday at the Allegheny County Jail, court records show.
Judges twice have denied him bail.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office did not return emails this week seeking comment.
Attorney Casey Mullen, who represents Brown, declined comment.
