Bridgeport Barber Shot While Protecting Young Boy

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A barber shot and killed at his barbershop on Park Avenue Saturday died protecting his customers, reports the Connecticut Post. Police Capt. Roderick Porter told the Post that Deon Rodney, 31, was shot trying to protect a man seeking refuge from the gunman in his shop.

Following an altercation, Rodney was shot at the Just Right Cutz barbershop near the Interstate 95 overpass Saturday evening. Police said Rodney was protecting a young boy during the incident. Rodney had just finished cutting the boy's hair, according to barbershop owner Justin Riley.

Riley credited Rodney for saving those in the barbershop at the time of the attack.

Police announced Sunday that two armed men barged into the barbershop and shot Rodney in the abdomen Saturday night, according to multiple reports. The incident took place at 7:20 p.m., and Rodney was pronounced dead at St. Vincent's Hospital.

Rodney leaves behind an eight-year-old daughter, wife and mother, according to a gofundme posted by coworkers of Rodney's wife Kimone Waite. The page was set up to assist Rodney's family with funeral expenses and a trust fund for his daughter.

"Please help us provide Deon with the dignified hero's farewell he deserves," Suzanne Letso of Milford wrote in the page's description.

The page has raised $2,960 by 38 people in one day, as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

To visit the gofundme page, click here.

The death marks the city's 22nd homicide this year.

Read more from the Connecticut Post here.

Image via gofundme.