McKees Rocks Violent Crime (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills: real estate, homes, neighborhoods)

[WILWRadio]

Believe it or not, I will finally be able to start looking for a property in what will be my next home starting in September. I was considering a move to McKees Rocks along with some other Pittsburgh neighborhoods and suburban communities but in light of the recent murders I am having second thoughts about living there. I noted the murders are scattered around the town and not limited to a neighborhood or small area of the town.

Anyone have any ideas if these are just freak incidents or the sign of a new trend there?

[TechieTransplant]

I saw Mckees Rocks featured on the news last night, and I thought it was a missprint. I am aware of a lot of crime recently in Mckeesport, but wasn't aware of issues in Mckees Rocks.

[Clint.]

I have no idea. Sorry if that is no help.

I've been told that the "Bottoms" can be kind of rough.

[PreservationPioneer]

Yeah, it is pretty shocking. McKees Rocks has had 5 murders so far this year. One was a man who shot an intruder who entered his home. The others were probably drug related. I don't believe there have been any murders this year in Stowe. Sheraden also has a lot of issues lately. I read on the news a story about an adult male who was kidnapped by a group of men in a van in Sheraden, robbed, and then overheard their plans to murder him and dump his body. Fortunately, he was able to jump out of the van and run to safety.

[Uptown kid]

My take on this is that the shootings are between independent clicks & gang members from Meyers-Ridge... Im guessing a mix of drug/gang related incidents so it does reflect somewhat on the level of criminal activty in the neighborhood...

[WILWRadio]

Thanks for the feedback. I was aware that problems had also cropped up in Sheraden and now it seems to be spreading into McKees Rocks. I have to wonder is this is just a bad year or if the trend will continue. Often times a community will have one isolated bad year for crime while the years preceding or following it turn out to be near average for the community. I just don't know enough about McKees Rocks to have a clue which way it will go.

[SteelCityRising]

I, too, have recently been looking at real estate in the McKees Rocks/Stowe Township area due to housing affordability and relative convenience to the city. I wouldn't be so concerned about such a small town having so many murders as long as they aren't random in nature. Once the average resident of McKees Rocks needs to fear being shot in a drive-by walking down the street I'd say it's time for concern. If this is largely just low-lives picking off other low-lives, then I wouldn't be too concerned. I currently live within walking distance of the most murderous neighborhood in the metro area and still feel incredibly safe, even at night, because "gang-bangin' 'hood rats" (is that what they're called?) generally speaking aren't looking to just shoot down random law-abiding people jogging or pushing strollers on sidewalks for a "thrill".

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I, too, have recently been looking at real estate in the McKees Rocks/Stowe Township area due to housing affordability and relative convenience to the city. I wouldn't be so concerned about such a small town having so many murders as long as they aren't random in nature. Once the average resident of McKees Rocks needs to fear being shot in a drive-by walking down the street I'd say it's time for concern. If this is largely just low-lives picking off other low-lives, then I wouldn't be too concerned. I currently live within walking distance of the most murderous neighborhood in the metro area and still feel incredibly safe, even at night, because "gang-bangin' 'hood rats" (is that what they're called?) generally speaking aren't looking to just shoot down random law-abiding people jogging or pushing strollers on sidewalks for a "thrill".

Yes, I largely agree. But I do have to look at the big picture. Even if these are not random acts and are local gang bangers going after one another, it is a major deterrent to bringing in new residents that want to avoid this kind of nonsense. Even though I am single now, by some crazy twist I may get married and have a kid or two at some point and I would not want them to grow up in an environment where they have to be concerned about picking up a stray bullet while out messing around.

I guess I am wondering if McKees Rocks can somehow start to attract a lot of new residents like AA (self described Urban Pioneer) that are willing to transform the bad parts into livable neighborhoods? I don't mind the gritty aspects of a community but I do want to avoid violent crime even if it is random unless the crime is sporadic and not a habitual problem.

[speagles84]

McKees Rocks has always been a "rough" spot in the Pittsburgh Metro, but this year has been especially bad. According to the post gazette's website with the map murders in Allegheny County, McKees Rocks has more than every municipality in the county but the city and Penn Hills, both of which are tenfold bigger than the Rocks. I agree that most murders are gang/drug related, but the general feeling that there are alot of low life's around means there will be more petty crime (muggings, thefts, burglary) which is just as scary as 5 drug dealers getting shot.

[Uptown kid]

Aside from McKees Rocks other places such as: the Greenway Park Apts, Sheraden, Wilkinsburg, McKeesport, the Mon View Heights Projects, Homestead, Homewood, the Hill, Northview Heights, Perry Hilltop & Marshall-Shadeland have also seen an increase of black on black drug/gang related activty in recent months... However Im not surprised since this type of violence tends to be more common in the summer...