New Kensington police charge man with trying to kill 3 people outside apartment complex

New Kensington police charged one of two men they say tried to shoot three people outside the Valley Royal Court apartment complex last week.

Police charged Amarion Anthony Michael Michaux, 18, of Arnold with three counts of attempted homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of illegally possessing a firearm.

Police still are looking for the second alleged shooter, New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer said. He said police have not identified the intended targets.

In a criminal complaint, police said they identified Michaux and placed him at the scene of the shooting using video surveillance from a nearby business and because he is on probation and wears a GPS monitor.

Michaux is not allowed to possess a firearm because he was convicted of possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, a felony, in December 2022 in Washington County, the complaint states.

New Kensington officers heard gunshots coming from the area of Valley Royal Court shortly after 7 p.m. April 15, around the same time that 911 calls were being received for a shooting near Fifth Avenue and Hileman Drive, police said.

Several bullet casings of two types, 9 mm and a rifle-caliber round, were found in that area, the complaint states.

Police reviewed video surveillance from a neighboring business the next day.

The video showed three people walking south on Fifth Avenue toward Hileman and stopping at the intersection, where they looked in the direction of Valley Royal Court, before walking north on Fifth Avenue, police said.

Two of the people then were seen walking back, again toward Hileman. One was identified as Michaux; the other was wearing a pink hoodie, the complaint said.

No other information is available on the second alleged shooter, and police don’t yet have a motive for the shooting, Deringer said.

In the video, Michaux is seen pulling a handgun from his hoodie, police said, while the person in the pink hoodie pulls an AK-47-style pistol from his pants. Both fire their guns toward three people standing at the south entrance of the Furst Residence in Valley Royal Court along Fifth Avenue.

The Furst Residence and the Burrell Residence both were struck by bullets, the complaint said.

There is no mention of anyone being injured.

Police asked a state parole agent on Wednesday to review Michaux’s GPS location around 7 p.m. April 15. It placed him at the scene at the time of the shooting, and a parole agent identified him in the video, the complaint states.

Michaux was denied bond when he was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and was sent to the Westmoreland County jail. His preliminary hearing before New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. is scheduled for May 2.