Deon Rodney, 31, was working as a barber at Just Right Cutz on Park Avenue in Bridgeport on the evening of October 14, 2017, when an attempted robbery in the parking lot spilled into the shop. A man fleeing the attack sought refuge inside; one of the assailants, Jordan Hinton, followed him in with a handgun. Rodney intervened, tackling Hinton and wrestling with him from inside the shop onto the pavement. While they struggled, the second assailant, Mark Christian, who had been waiting outside, fired a single shot that struck Rodney in the abdomen.

Rodney was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center and died hours later from the wound. Police identified the case as Bridgeport’s 22nd homicide of the year and arrested 32-year-old Mark Christian on October 30, 2017; Jordan Hinton remained at large for some time afterward.

Rodney has been described as having acted to protect his customers during the incident.