Year after fatal Airbnb shootings, Pittsburgh Police have no update

Nearly a year after two teenagers were killed and eight others were injured in an Easter morning shooting at an Airbnb rental property in Pittsburgh’s North Side, city officials have not passed any legislation to regulate short-term rentals, and police have no updates on their investigation.

Police said about 200 people, many underage, were at a party at the Airbnb in the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood when gunfire erupted.

Police have no updates on the investigation, Public Safety spokesperson Amanda Mueller said Thursday.

In the wake of the violence, City Council introduced legislation that would require anyone operating an Airbnb or other short-term rental property to get a license from the city and provide contact information so local officials could get in touch with them if issues arise at their property.

The measure also would require additional information, like the maximum number of guests allowed for each rental, and a log of guests who enter the property, which they would have to provide to city code enforcement officers upon request.

Though the measure was introduced to council within days of the shooting, it has not moved out of committee in the nearly 12 months since it was brought to the table.

Council members last May hosted a public hearing to gather input from the community, and the legislation has seen some tweaks since it was introduced last April.

Related:

• April 17, 2022: Multiple shooters suspected in 'war scene' that killed 2, injured 8 on Pittsburgh's North Side
• May 19, 2022: Airbnb operators urge Pittsburgh City Council to tweak legislation on short-term rentals
• March 17, 2023: Pittsburgh rental registration ordinance struck down by court

Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, who represents the area where the Airbnb shooting took place, this week requested a three-month hold on the measure, which council unanimously approved.

“Since last year’s Easter Sunday mass shooting on the North Side, my office has been working to create a short-term rental registry that would strengthen public safety, preserve the quality of life for our neighborhoods and prevent future tragedies from occurring at short-term rental properties in the city of Pittsburgh,” Wilson said.

His office, under guidance from the city’s Law Department, drafted legislation that “closely follows” the city’s rental registry ordinance.

The new rental registry, however, was struck down in court.

“Unfortunately, the Commonwealth Court’s recent and unexpected ruling against the city’s proposed rental registry program has also pushed us back to the drawing board on creating a short-term rental registry ordinance,” Wilson said.

He said he doesn’t want to pass an ordinance that “may well get struck down (in court) because it resembles the prior rental registry ordinance.”

Wilson said he is working with the Law Department, the mayor and other council members “to thoroughly revise this legislation so that it can withstand legal challenges and be implementable on Day 1.”