Five years after Brandon Short’s 26-year-old daughter, Karli, and her unborn son were killed in a McKeesport shooting, the perpetrators will finally face the law. Instead of letting grief consume Short, he turned that into pain and purpose and had a long fight to seek justice. After all his efforts, which also included setting up a foundation in Karli’s memory to honor victims of gun violence, the courtroom trial finally begins tomorrow, May 19.
“To everyone who has never stopped asking, never stopped praying, and never stopped holding Karli in your hearts. The trial is finally scheduled to begin on
Tuesday, May 19, and is expected to last approximately two weeks,” Short wrote on X. “There are no words adequate enough to describe what it means to reach this moment. The road here has been long, painful, and filled with more setbacks than any family should ever have to face.”
Brandon Short was a standout Penn State All-American and linebacker who also played in the NFL for the Panthers. A native of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, he was deeply connected to Penn State and became the program’s alumni trustee in 2024. But before that, on September 13, 2021, his world came crashing down after a shooting in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.
— Brandon Short (@brandonshort43) May 17, 2026
His daughter, Karli, was shot in the head, in what authorities described as a “planned” act. Later, Smith, the father of Karli’s unborn child, was charged with criminal homicide and with the homicide of an unborn child. Short publicly mourned his daughter shortly after her body was discovered and, in a Facebook post, poured out his emotions to the world.
“My heart is broken. I’ve lost the light of my life; my oldest daughter Karli passed away this morning in a senseless act of gun violence,” Short wrote. “The love she had was so pure and true. The world lost a beautiful son… We just found out it was a little boy. So we lost two… There’s a killer on the loose. I’m heartbroken, angry. I’m frustrated, and I’m scared. I don’t know what to do. She was funny. She had such a big personality.”
Right after the shooting, Short offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the killer’s arrest. In November 2021, the police charged Smith after prosecutors presented a video of Karli leaving the home one minute before the gunfire. Evidence linked Smith to the weapon, and phone records also pointed in the same direction.
Brandon Short makes an emotional public appeal to honor his daughter’s memory
In June 2022, in honor of Karli’s memory, Short and his wife announced the ‘Karli Short Better Tomorrow Foundation.’ Their foundation aims to provide scholarships, mentorship, and financial aid to victims of gun violence, initially focusing on the McKeesport area. But now, the foundation has expanded its wings to University Park, too. Now, as the trial is set to begin, Short urges everyone to pray and offer support.
“We go into these coming weeks with heavy hearts and hopeful spirits—holding onto the belief that Karli’s story matters, that her life mattered, and that justice is finally within reach,” Short wrote publicly on X. “Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we see this through. We are so grateful for every single one of you. With all our love, The Short Family.”
Before the court announced the trial date as May 19, it had been postponed several times. As authorities bring Karli’s killers to justice, they will also focus on the thousands of other gun violence cases that go under the radar. Karli’s legacy will now serve as a symbol of hope for those victims, as they also fight for justice.
