PITTSBURGH — Some properties rented through Airbnb can be so easy to acquire and inexpensive that they can be used for one-night parties and other events that lead to problems, despite strict rules against that kind of activity.
That seems to be exactly what happened Saturday night into Sunday morning when an apparent underage party on Madison Avenue in Pittsburgh’s East Allegheny neighborhood turned violent, leaving two people shot dead and several others wounded or injured trying to escape.
Airbnb, which acts as a rental broker for property owners who rent out small venues such as a house or second floor to people who don’t want to stay in a hotel, said Sunday that the East Allegheny owner seems to have followed all of the company’s rules. Those rules include having the renter be at least 19 years old and sign an agreement that says they will not hold a party and will be quiet between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The company said in a statement Sunday afternoon that the owner of the property wasn’t aware there would be a party at the site and that the person who scheduled the property has been banned for life. The company said it is cooperating with the police investigation.
“We share the Pittsburgh community’s outrage regarding this tragic gun violence,” the statement said. “Our hearts go out to all who were impacted — including loved ones of those who lost their lives, injured victims and neighbors.”
Airbnb would not identify the renter, and the property owner, 900 North Group LLC, couldn’t be reached for comment. The group owns the second and third floors of the building.
The property owner shares an address in Whitehall with Barr Property Development Inc., according to state corporation records. On a LinkedIn page, Greg Barr lists himself as president of Barr Property Development Inc., which he describes as a firm started in 2006 that owns commercial, multi-family and single-family properties throughout Allegheny County.
Airbnb said the property owner’s listing page had rules stipulating that, “No parties allowed, any evidence of parties will result in a $500 fee,” and that guests should respect a noise curfew between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The owner of the first-floor unit, Stephen Long, told Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV that he found “bullets everywhere” in his two-bedroom unit when he went there Sunday. Long said a family from Charlotte, N.C., who had been staying at the unit since Wednesday left about an hour before the shootings because of the noise from the party.
Airbnb stressed that it is part of a coalition calling for stricter gun control measures. It also operates a Neighborhood Support Line where neighbors of Airbnb properties are encouraged to report parties and other problems as they are occurring.
“Airbnb strictly bans parties and we condemn the behavior that is alleged to have prompted this criminal gun violence,” the company said. “We have reached out to the Pittsburgh Police Department as well as Mayor [Ed] Gainey’s team to offer our support for their investigations, and we hope the people responsible for this bloodshed will be found quickly.”
Airbnb formally banned parties from its properties in November 2019, after renters in Orinda Calif., outside San Francisco, staged a Halloween party that turned violent and left five people shot to death. The renters at that time had told the property owner that they had asthma and were renting the property to get away from wildfires in their area.
At that time, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted, “We must do better, and we will. This is unacceptable.”
As a result, the company banned parties from its properties and now requires all renters to go through a background check before approving their rental.
Five months before the party ban, Pittsburgh had a notorious incident at a property rented through Airbnb. Alexus Chester and a guest were shot and killed during her 17th birthday party at an Airbnb property on McNeil Place in the Hill District on June 11, 2019.
Pittsburgh Councilman Bruce Kraus, whose district includes most of South Side and Oakland, has been battling against pop-up parties for most of his 15 years in office. He called the events a societal problem not limited to Airbnb sites.
“I don’t want to completely absolve [Airbnb], but these things can slip through the cracks,” he said. “The situation can take place anywhere. It could have happened in my district a day earlier.”
Kraus said a similar party occurred Friday night into Saturday morning in the 900 block of East Carson Street in the South Side, but it didn’t turn deadly. A normally empty site was rented out for an underage party, and dozens of people at the party created havoc in the neighborhood while going to and from the event.
Pittsburgh police said they weren’t aware of that incident.
Kraus noted that the city has made attempts to control underage drinking parties. City Council passed a bill commonly used across the country known as “social host” legislation. This measure, which he sponsored in 2013, calls for a $500 fine or three days in jail for any property owner who provides the location for that type of event.
“All the systems we have in place to protect us from situations like this have somehow abandoned us,” Kraus said. “The bigger discussion is around the question of how we have gotten to this point in our history [where violence is acceptable].”
As an elected official, Kraus said, it can be frustrating to do the legislative work to address a situation and turn it over to the administration for implementation.
“I’ve been here through three administrations, and you never know whether they’re going to use the legislation we pass or let it sit there,” he said.
