Woman arrested over baseball bat, gun attack on pair sitting on her porch

Police said Destinee Barron went berserk Monday after arriving home from work.

By JUSTIN VELLUCCI
TribLive

Police on Tuesday charged a McKeesport woman with hitting one person in the head with a baseball bat and shooting someone else during an argument over people sitting on her porch.

Destinee Barron, 30, is charged with multiple counts of attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

Allegheny County Police said officers were dispatched around 8:15 p.m. Monday to the Harrison Village housing complex for reports of a shooting.

Authorities later learned Barron had returned home from work Monday and “began yelling about the group constantly being on her porch,” according to a criminal complaint in the case.

Barron walked into her apartment and came out with a baseball bat, the complaint said. She then struck one woman, who was sitting in a porch chair, in the head with the bat. Another person ran from the porch while carrying a small child.

Barron then went again into her apartment and returned with a gun, the complaint said.

Barron started fighting with a second woman, the complaint said. When that woman attempted to run into a neighboring apartment, Barron “pushed through the door and fired two shots.”

The second victim was shot twice in the left shoulder.

One victim was treated at UPMC McKeesport hospital and the other at UPMC Presbyterian hospital, the complaint said. The victim who was shot was listed Monday in critical condition.

Police said they found multiple bullet cartridges and live rounds at the crime scene. Those cartridges appeared to match the caliber of one of the guns officers found inside Barron’s apartment, police said.

One apartment’s door was marked with a bullet hole and blood, according to police.

One witness to the attacks said they “spoke with and hugged Barron earlier in the day and everything seemed fine,” according to the complaint.

Police said the woman who Barron allegedly shot described her relationship with the suspect as “cordial and neighborly.”

Barron was awaiting arraignment Tuesday afternoon, court records showed. Her attorney was not listed.