Hundreds attend funeral

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A 16-year-old student who was fatally shot less than a block from his high school needed a good Samaritan, a minister who presided over the teenager's funeral said.
At Keith Watts Jr.'s funeral, held Monday at Macedonia Baptist Church in Pittsburgh's Hill District, the Rev. Jason Barr told the story of the Good Samaritan from the gospel of Luke in the Bible.
"Keith Watts is the representation of an epidemic," the Rev. Mr. Barr said. "a young African-American man being beaten on the road to life."
Hundreds of people, including Watts' classmates at Carrick High School, crowded into the church's 800-seat sanctuary to say goodbye to a teenager known as "Spudd" who loved football and dreamed of being an engineer.
Drive-by shooting
Watts and two other Carrick High School students were sitting in a sport utility vehicle Wednesday afternoon near the school when a car drove up and someone inside fired eight shots from an AK-47 rifle into Watts' vehicle, police said.
Watts died instantly, another teen was critically wounded and a third teen received minor injuries.
At Watts' funeral, his photo and an arrangement of white roses sat on top of his shiny, teal-colored coffin. The audience included city council President Gene Ricciardi, Councilman William Peduto and interim Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Andrew King.
Last week, police charged Derwin Milligan, 17, of Pittsburgh's Beltzhoover neighborhood, with killing Watts. Police believe Milligan was the triggerman in the shooting.
Police said the shooting apparently stemmed from a dispute between teens in rival neighborhoods.
The district plans to hold a forum to address the turf rivalries, King said.
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