Pittsburgh police charge homeless man with shooting good Samaritan multiple times

A homeless man in Pittsburgh shot a 73-year-old man multiple times on Wednesday afternoon, apparently as the victim was trying to help him, police said.

The victim, who was not identified, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in critical condition. He was being treated for at least seven gunshot wounds.

Pittsburgh police had to use a Taser to subdue the suspect, identified as Angus Sanders Jr., 47, who locals said was a fixture in the city’s Brighton Heights neighborhood, sometimes sleeping on a mulch pile.

Residents and workers in the area told police they would often see Sanders toting a black garbage bag, and one reported that he carried a gun in his waistband.

Police charged Sanders with aggravated assault and other crimes. They said he remained at UPMC Mercy, sedated because he was combative and not always lucid.

Witnesses said the victim was trying to bring supplies to Sanders at Goe Avenue and Brighton Road shortly before 4 p.m., according to a criminal complaint.

“Hey, buddy, hey buddy. I got some stuff for you,” the victim said, according to what one witness told police.

Sanders growled, drew a gun and shot the man, the witness said.

Another witness described the encounter as unfolding after the victim got out of a pickup truck that pulled up to near where Sanders was lying.

The man appeared to be aiding Sanders, according to the witness. But then, the complaint said, “the homeless man fell back into a bush before rebounding back onto his knees and began shooting…”

That witness told police that Sanders shot the victim at point-blank range.

A third person told police that Sanders was face down when the victim approached. That witness said the victim was not aggressive and appeared to be worried because Sanders appeared to be hurt.

Police responded to a notification by the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system of 13 shots being fired.

When they arrived, they found the victim bleeding heavily.

Sanders, police said, was several feet away. He was crouched and holding a gun, but seemed to be unconscious, the complaint said.

A police officer tried to remove the gun when Sanders bolted awake and began wrestling for control, according to the complaint.

Several officers, including one who was off-duty and passed by while on the way to work, fought with Sanders as he held the gun, police said.

Eventually, one deployed a Taser, and police were able to pry loose the gun and handcuff Sanders, the complaint said.

Police traced the pistol they said Sanders used to a gun stolen from Swissvale in January 2023.

Pittsburgh police Assistant Chief Richard Ford said there was no evidence that Sanders and the victim knew each other.

Assistant Chief of Operations Richard Ford says police first responded to a 13-round ShotSpotter alert in the area before locating the victim. https://t.co/SYZS7Qs9DM pic.twitter.com/bw5LHlWZyi

— Pittsburgh Public Safety (@PghPublicSafety) August 7, 2024

“We think in this particular situation the actor may have been on something,” Ford said, “and this person was just a good Samaritan that had come upon this individual to try to render aid, and the person just started firing on the individual.”

The complaint said Sanders is not allowed to have a gun due to several previous convictions.