Two sisters and a neighborhood handyman were shot yesterday in Beltzhoover when they got caught in the crossfire of two gunmen.

One of the wounded, a 54-year-old woman described by neighbors as a grandmother and a "community pillar," was in grave condition with a gunshot wound to the head, police said. Her 50-year-old sister was shot in the hand and a 61-year-old man was shot in the leg, and were in stable condition. All three were taken to UPMC Mercy. Their names were not released.

Police said the trio were innocent bystanders sitting in a yard near a porch when they got trapped in a gun battle that erupted just before 5 p.m. near Climax Street and Curtin Avenue.

Police gave this account: One gunman came from Industry Street near Warrington Avenue, and for reasons that weren't clear, fired some shots blindly behind him. The other man was standing near the front of 21 Curtin, and once the two came in view of each other, they exchanged shots.

In that exchange, police spokeswoman Diane Richard said, "three innocent people sitting in front of the residence were shot."

Both men fled the scene. Police made no arrests last night.

Richelle Davis, a niece of the sisters, said the women were chatting near the porch while several young children played inside the house. Suddenly, Ms. Davis said, she heard gunfire and ran around the corner of Climax for cover. She didn't see the shooter, she said, but heard at least 10 gunshots.

When she returned, she said, "my aunt was in the chair slumped over with her head to the side, and I could see a gunshot wound."

Neighbors ran down the street when they learned the sisters were hurt and called 911.

Police said they recovered more than a dozen shell casings, which were strewn down a two-block stretch of Curtin, as far as East Warrington Avenue.

Police canvassed the neighborhood for several hours, talking to people who were inside the home during the shooting to determine exactly what happened, Ms. Richard said. They collected, including what appeared to be blood-soaked clothing near some plastic chairs where the three victims had been sitting.

Ms. Davis said the house is owned by one of her aunts, and the other one was visiting.

"They were just sitting out here, innocent," said close friend and neighbor Angela Jones. "They had nothing to do with this."

Ms. Jones said both sisters looked out for others and could often be spotted on the porch. They have grown children and grandchildren, she said.

"I used to see them on the porch constantly, and I'd stop and say hi," said Kelah Cash, 13, who lives in the neighborhood.

This year alone, at least four people have been killed in Allegheny County because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In July, Vincent Terry, 55, a maintenance man, was shot and killed when he got caught in a deadly crossfire in East Liberty. A month earlier, Raymond Reese, 15, was killed while standing on a porch in Allentown when 10 to 15 shots were fired from a passing vehicle.

In April, 12-year-old Kholen Germany was shot and killed by a man who opened fire in front of a Wilkinsburg clothing store. And in January, 12-year-old Jolesa Barber was killed when gunmen fired 40 rounds into her sister's North Side rowhouse.