Investigators recovered physical evidence and interviewed two people, but police have not publicly identified who fired the fatal shots.
PENN HILLS, Pa. — Nearly a month after gunfire inside a Penn Hills home left one teenager dead and another wounded, police have filed homicide charges while acknowledging a central question remains unresolved: who fired the shots during the deadly encounter.
Tayquawn Mills, 17, has been charged with homicide, robbery, burglary and criminal conspiracy in the Aug. 18 death of 18-year-old Kevin Walter. Investigators say Mills and another person went to Walter’s Keefer Drive home for a drug transaction before an alleged plan to rob Walter became part of the encounter.
Police have not publicly said that Mills fired the shot that killed Walter. Investigators have said it remains unclear exactly who fired during the confrontation, an important distinction as the case moves from an investigation into the court system. The criminal charges allege Mills bears legal responsibility for Walter’s death, but the allegations have not been proven in court.
Authorities were first sent shortly after 2 a.m. Aug. 18 to Anthon Drive, where a wounded 17-year-old was found. Officers then learned of another victim inside a home in the 100 block of Keefer Drive. Walter was found there with a gunshot wound and died at the scene.
Mills, who had also been shot in the chest, was taken to a hospital. Police said the shooting itself appeared to have occurred inside the Keefer Drive residence and that Mills made his way to the nearby Anthon Drive location afterward.
Evidence recovered inside the home has helped investigators link the participants to the scene. Police previously reported finding shell casings from both a rifle and a handgun. Investigators also recovered a cellphone belonging to Mills inside Walter’s home, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint says Mills told detectives that he and another person went to Walter’s home to buy drugs. Mills said the other person spoke about robbing Walter and that he told that person not to do it. Police said both nevertheless entered the residence.
Investigators also interviewed the other person who went to the home. Both accounts described a marijuana purchase, according to reporting on the complaint, but the statements differed in some respects. Both accounts referred to a dispute involving payment before the shooting.
The presence of more than one type of shell casing and the differing accounts have left investigators with unresolved details about the sequence of gunfire. Police have not publicly said how many guns were fired, who possessed them or which weapon fired the shot that killed Walter. Authorities also did not recover the gun or guns used in the shooting during the initial investigation.
Early in the case, police said they believed a third person was involved and had left the area. The filing of charges against Mills has provided a clearer account of why investigators believe the group gathered at the Keefer Drive home, but authorities have not publicly identified the other person described in the complaint.
Police have also not announced whether that person will face criminal charges. The case remains under investigation as Mills faces the allegations against him and authorities continue trying to establish the full sequence of events that led to Walter’s death.
Author note: Last updated September 12, 2026.