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Wednesday, October 23, 2002 By Nate Guidry and Michael A. Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writers
A 9-year-old boy who was practicing with his youth football team was shot, but not seriously wounded, last night by someone who fired several times from a wooded area in McKinley Park in Beltzhoover.

The boy was struck in the left hip by a shot that may have come from a BB or pellet gun or possibly a small-caliber firearm, said Pittsburgh Police Chief Robert W. McNeilly Jr.

The shooting prompted immediate fears that a sniper might have been responsible. McNeilly was careful to say that police could not rule out any possibility. "I think there is some question in that regard, and that's the reason we want to investigate this immediately and thoroughly," he said. But, he added, "We believe right now it was young kids firing guns.

" McNeilly said police have been told that children often play in the area with BB and pellet guns. Several residents said they heard "popping" sounds similar to what they've heard before, he said.

The boy, Chris Bradley-Bey, a pupil at Beltzhoover Elementary School, was taken to Children's Hospital in Oakland, where he was in fair condition, said hospital spokesman Dean Walters. He sustained an abrasion wound, Walters said, meaning that the pellet or bullet did not penetrate his skin. He was being kept overnight for observation.

Police blocked off an area of several blocks around the park and began combing the woods with K-9 units, uniformed officers and detectives, while a KDKA-TV helicopter flew overhead to assist with the search. The helicopter was equipped with a searchlight and thermal imaging camera. Police suspended the search around 10:30 last night.

The shooting occurred about 7:30 p.m. at a football field at the park, which is located on Bausman Street, just above Saw Mill Run Boulevard. The shooting victim is a member of the Beltzhoover Browns, a peewee football team of 8- and 9-year-olds, said the team's coach, Dean Brown.

Brown said about 30 players and five coaches were on the field when he said they heard about four shots fired from a wooded area overlooking the football field. Brown said he initially thought he heard firecrackers, but said the boy, who plays defensive line on the team, came up to him and said he had been shot.

The boy, who was wearing his full uniform, was standing on the sideline of the field when he was hit. Brown said he pulled up the boy's jersey and saw blood.

"This is unreal. We finally got the kids back into the community. We were practicing for the playoffs. We were undefeated. And something like this happens," said Brown. Harold Lewis of Knoxville, who has a son on the team and also coaches another team of older boys, said that he arrived moments after the boy was shot and saw the entire team crouching for cover by Brown's car.

Lewis said they told him one of the players had been shot. "It's the worst feeling in the world, especially when you realize it's one of the kids that's been shot," Lewis said. "It's a terrible feeling." Lewis said the football program was revived this year after being out of action for about 20 years. The team was undefeated and was scheduled to play a playoff game on Saturday against the Hazelwood Cobras. But after taking several players home in his car, Lewis said he didn't know whether that game will be played. "All the kids said they won't be coming back," he said. "It's fear. They're scared."