PITTSBURGH
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A retired Pittsburgh firefighter was shot to death while walking his dog in his Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood late Sunday night, police said.
Mark Barry, 55, was found shot in the chest at the intersection of Mullins Street and Woodland Avenue at about 10 p.m. and pronounced dead at the scene, emergency dispatchers said.
"I guess the question is, 'Is our neighborhood really gone that bad?' And yesterday answered the question," said Joshua Dumont, who lives in the area.
Barry retired in 2005 after 27 years with the Fire Bureau. He was shot about a block from his home on Plough Street.
"We understand he was out walking his dog. When officers arrived, his dog may have been guarding him at the time," said Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki.
Dumont told Channel 4 Action News he heard the gunshots.
"We automatically jumped up and started looking around, and that's when we started walking up the street, and there was commotion up there and that's when we saw. The whole incident was just very terrifying," Dumont said.
Robin Titus only walks her dogs during the day. She said she has seen an increase in violence in the neighborhood in recent years. She said was home when she heard the shots.
"We heard two bangs and it was about five after 10, and I kind of figured something happened," Titus said. "I don't go out after dark. We tend to stay in the house."
"I walk my two German shepherds every night and I don't think anything of it," Dumont said. "Just walking your dog, and you don't plan on getting shot, gunned down."
No arrests have been made. Police are asking anyone with information in the case to call investigators at 412-323-7161.
"I know he loved to ride his motorcycle and he loved his dog," said Fire Lt. John Sharpe, a former co-worker, who added, "Mark never bothered anybody."
Sharpe works at Engine 38 in Northview Heights. He worked with Barry for more than a decade and considered him a close friend.
"It's a family atmosphere. We're brothers. It's common in the fire service," said Sharpe.
Barry's gear was displayed in his old locker at the fire station on Monday as a reminder of friendships he had there and his long service to the city.
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