Last week, Tree of Hope founder Adrienne Young announced on the We Need Justice Too!!! Facebook page that she was assisting the Northview Heights tenant council president with organizing a vigil/rally to help quash the violence in the community.
The rally was to be in response to the weekend shooting death of 32-year-old Michael Wilson, of McKees Rocks, who had been shot on Penfort Street in Northview Heights.
But a day after making the announcement, Young had to call the effort off. The reason–the Stop the Violence rally had been threatened with violence.
“Mr. Binion the director of the housing authority received some threat to the family of Melvin Wilson who is part of the vigil,” her May 6 post read. “And Mr. Binion called off the vigil because he said the safety of the community is of utmost importance to him and he does not have enough security coverage for the event.”
When contacted by phone, however, Housing Authority Executive spokesperson Michelle Jackson Washington said there was no threat.
“Out of respect for the grieving process, it was deemed inappropriate at this time. You need a period of time to let people cool down and grieve,” she said. “(Young’s post), that’s on Facebook. I can’t speak to that, but I was here the whole week and there was no threat. Mr. Binion did speak to (tenant council president) Valerie Law, but it was a respect issue. That’s the extent of what we’re dealing with.”
Young and Law said that’s not so.
“Mr. Binion told me personally that there had been a threat and—I’m quoting him—that ‘the safety of the residents is of utmost importance and we don’t have enough security to cover the event,’” Young said. “He didn’t tell me the specifics of the threat, but he told Valerie. And as for it being too soon, in the past, we’ve had vigils up there on the same day as a shooting. You don’t wait to do these things. You have them when it’s fresh in everyone’s mind.”
Law said Binion told her there was a specific threat and that he couldn’t guarantee anyone’s safety so he did not allow the vigil.
“He said there was a threat of violence and he did not want to see anyone else get killed,” she said.
Law said though there had been a shooting in Northview Heights a few weeks ago, this was the first killing in three years.
“I think they don’t want any extra attention on HACP properties,” she said. “I thought it was odd because they have a million dollars in cameras up here, and they can’t catch this guy? He walked through a crowd of people and opened fire on Michael Wilson.”
She said the community is fearful and traumatized, and that’s when they should come together.
Young said she is outraged that and anti-violence rally would be stopped because of threatened violence.
“Yes it is outrageous, but then, I’m not surprised,” she said. “With the violence going on now, people are at a whole ‘nother level.’”
Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson Sonya Toler was in a training session and unable to provide an update on the investigation by Courier deadline.
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