Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, July 26:
2 arrested in Clairton shooting
Two people have been arrested in connection with a fatal July 12 shooting on Madison Avenue in Clairton, county police said.
Allegheny County Police arrested Thomas W. Walker V, 27, of North Braddock and Ciara Clifton, 25, of McKeesport on Thursday.
Doorbell camera footage from a home near the shooting showed a man eventually identified as Walker approaching 27-year-old Terell Blanks of Homestead from behind and firing multiple times into the back of Blanks’ head, according to court documents.
An additional doorbell camera captured video of Walker and a woman walking up Soltis Drive in the direction of Madison Avenue at 10:04 p.m., three minutes before the first camera recorded the shooting. Both had hooded sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up. A third camera showed Walker running down Soltis toward Desiderio Boulevard a minute after the shooting with what appears to be a pistol sticking out of a front pocket, according to a criminal complaint.
Police used license plate readers in the area to capture the plate on a silver Toyota seen in the area of the shooting, which they tracked to a McKeesport address. A background check on the vehicle showed that Ciara Clifton was arrested during a 2021 traffic stop in the car.
In addition, the car was in a reportable accident the day after the shooting, and police said the responding officer identified Clifton as the driver and Walker as her passenger. Video from officer body-cam footage of the incident was compared with video from the shooting to help identify Walker and Clifton, according to a sworn affidavit.
They were taken into custody on Thursday, county police said.
Walker was charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy, reckless endangering and carrying a firearm without a license. Clifton is charged with one felony count of conspiracy.
Rabies bait drops
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will partner with state officials to drop bait across the region in August as part of an effort to vaccinate raccoons against rabies.
Upcoming Local Events
The drops will be conducted by helicopter Aug. 6-24 in the greater Pittsburgh area, as well as by fixed-wing planes farther out in the region. The helicopters will fly about 200 feet off the ground, and will depart from the Beaver County Airport. They are red with black stripes along the body.
Plane operations will be based out of airports in Youngstown, Ohio, and Upshur, W.Va. They will fly around 500 feet distributing bait Aug. 9-30. The planes are white with thin red and blue stripes along the body.
Baits should be left alone – but intact baits can be moved if they are found where children and pets play. Damaged baits should be bagged and disposed in the trash.
Other tips include:
• Wear gloves or use a plastic bag when picking up the baits.
• Toss intact baits into a fencerow, woodlot, ditch, or other raccoon habitat areas.
• Wash your hands after any skin contact with a bait.
• For pets, eating few baits is not harmful, although eating a lot may cause vomiting or diarrhea.
• Do not risk getting bitten by taking a bait away from your pet.
• Confine pets for a couple of days and check the area for more bait.
• If your pet eats a bait, avoid your pet’s saliva for 24 hours, and wash skin or wounds that may have been licked.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.