Lightning struck in shooting

More information is available about the man police believe is responsible for the shooting of… More information is available about the man police believe is responsible for the shooting of Pitt student Matthew A. Napper.

Michael A. Jones, of Kelly Avenue in Wilkinsburg, Pa., was arraigned Saturday on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment of another person and violations of the Uniform Firearms Act.

Jones posted a $25,000 straight bond and was released from police custody by Monday morning.

City police confirmed reports that Jones holds a permit to carry the .40 caliber, semiautomatic pistol that they believe was used in Napper’s shooting.

Jones was apprehended after police received an anonymous tip, which came in response to a composite sketch completed by a member of the force’s mobile crime unit. Police called Jones into the station for questioning, and Napper and other witnesses identified Jones as the shooter when shown a pool of photographs similar to the composite.

Police have also revealed that Jones is a surgical technician at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital — the same hospital to which Napper was admitted after the shooting and has been readmitted for complications resulting from the incident.

Napper was shot during an altercation that occurred on Sept. 4. The victim and his friends were playing street football near 350 Atwood St., around 1:30 a.m., when the ball struck a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle exited his Acura and began yelling at Napper and his friends, police reported. The argument escalated when the driver spat on a young woman.

The Acura driver then drew a pistol out of the waistband of his pants and fired a single shot at the ground. The shot ricocheted and struck Napper in the back, leaving him in critical condition.

The incident is what Pitt Police Chief Tim Delaney called “a lightning strike.” Delaney said that there were various officers around the area at the time of the shooting, including off-duty officers both at the corner of Atwood and Semple streets, and at one of the restaurants on Atwood Street. He added that plain-clothed and uniformed officers were also patrolling that area.

According to Delaney, the shooting took place between two of the stationed officers.

He also said that Jones does not fit the profile of a typical suspect.

“Who would ever think this type of thing would happen with someone like that?” he said.

The shooting has been referred to by both police and Napper’s family as a “wrong place, wrong time” situation. Delaney agreed with that description.

“I don’t know how you could have stopped something like this,” he said. “It was just a lightning strike.”

Mercer Napper, the victim’s father, said the family is relieved that police have apprehended a suspect.

“Maybe this will curtail someone else getting injured like this,” the elder Napper said. “I just would have thought that he would be detained.”

Jones will face a district magistrate for a pretrial hearing on Monday at 1 p.m.