Overnight South Side shooting raises concerns for business owners, employee hit by stray bullet

A shooting on Pittsburgh’s South Side left one Cambod-Ican Kitchen employee hospitalized and caused thousands of dollars worth of damage early Saturday morning.

This comes not even 24 hours after Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey unveiled an anti-violence ‘Pittsburgh Plan for Peace,’ designed to reduce crime and violence in the city.

“We had a crowd of about 20 young people in the dining room. One of our guys went outside, came back in, (and) said there’s guys out there brandishing guns. So he called 911 and said ‘hey we need to get some officers down here soon,'” said Daniel McSwiggen, co-owner of Cambod-Ican Kitchen along E. Carson Street. “Within 10 minutes boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, we start hearing bullets.”

McSwiggen said his employee went to the kitchen to call 911 and when he came out to the dining room, “he felt an impact on the bottom of his foot go up his leg.”

Pittsburgh police confirmed they were called to the scene of 17th Street just off of Carson Street on the South Side for a shots fired call. When they arrived, they found the employee who had been hit in the leg by a stray bullet.

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The incident sparked concern among other local business owners in the area.

“It’s two doors down,” said Kenzie McVicker, general manager of Milkshake Factory South Side. “It was a bit shocking and a bit frightening that it was so close because it’s never been as close as it’s been until right now, I feel.”

McVicker said he may even talk over possible changes with his boss to ensure his staff is safe.

“I’m even considering talking to my boss to see if we should make a change, what I can do for the safety of my team because I employ high schoolers and I don’t want them to be near, or in, any sort of danger.”

“It definitely makes me feel unsafe, like my life is on the line,” said Thandar Lin, who works at Street Noodles the business that sits next to Cambod-Ican Kitchen. “I feel like it happens, but I feel like there should be more security for us. We want to make money but we also want to live.”

Mayor Ed Gainey addresses partnering with businesses in his ‘Plan for Peace,‘ which is why Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 asked businesses what they may want to see if the city were to ask:

“It’s tough because it’s not a one size fits all kind of question,” said McVicker. “Increasing police presence might board up some of the things but people are always going to find some other alley to hide in. So, I’m honestly not sure what we can do to fix this issue. But it just kind of keeps escalating over the last two years.”

“They should limit how many people roam around. There should be more police force because, once you’re drunk, you don’t know what’s going on,” Lin told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. “Slowly increase security for all the people outside having fun, or for all the people walking here, because you never know what’s going to happen.”

The injured employee’s mother told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 he’s in stable condition at the hospital.

Pittsburgh police have not announced any arrests yet.