Fatal Pittsburgh Home Depot Lot Shooting Blamed On Attempted Gun Sale

OHIO TOWNSHIP, PA — An attempted gun sale gone awry led to the shooting death of a man in the Home Depot-Giant Eagle parking lot earlier this month, according to Allegheny County police.

Jordan Geiger, 18, a recent Freedom Area High School graduate, met Emmanuel Houghton, 19, and Tyler Stewart, 22, in the lot near Camp Horne Road where the transaction was supposed to occur, according to court documents. Instead, an altercation ensued that led to Geiger being shot.

Houghton, of Carnegie, and Stewart, of McKeesport, both face charges that include criminal homicide, conspiracy and various weapons violations.

Minutes after the shooting, Geiger crashed his car in the area of Gass and Ben Avon Heights roads not far from the grocery store. He was taken to and died at Allegheny General Hospital, where doctors discovered a gunshot wound under an armpit after his death.

Both Houghton and Stewart have denied firing the shot that killed Geiger, though both said they heard a gunshot.

Houghton and Stewart both were arrested in separate incidents on Aug. 14 that had nothing to do with Geiger's death.

Houghton was arrested in Monongahela after a standoff with police that last for hours. Houghton and police exchanged gunfire in the incident, which originated with the pursuit of a stolen vehicle.Stewart was arrested night following a police chase and attempted carjacking in Pittsburgh's Banksville section.

Houghton and Stewart both are being held in the county jail. Preliminary hearings for both have not yet been scheduled, according to court documents.