First victim of 2012 Western Psych shooting dies

Jeremy Byers, a security guard at UPMC, was shot by John Shick

Jeremy Byers, a security guard who was the first victim to be shot by John Shick during a rampage through Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in 2012 and later became embroiled in a yearslong lawsuit stemming from the incident, has died.

Mr. Byers, of Squirrel Hill, was found dead Monday afternoon in a rented room at the Courtyard by Marriott Pittsburgh West Homestead/Waterfront hotel in the 400 block of Waterfront Drive in West Homestead. He was pronounced dead at the scene just after 2 p.m., authorities said Tuesday. He was 42.

Allegheny County police are investigating, but his death is not considered suspicious, police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said. An official cause and manner of death will be released by the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office.

“He was a good man who was dealing with a lot of issues as best he could, and I will personally miss him,” said William Gagliardino, Mr. Byers’ attorney.

Mr. Byers was working March 8, 2012, as a security guard at the UPMC mental health facility in Oakland when Shick, a paranoid schizophrenic, entered with two handguns. Shick shot Mr. Byers in the left leg, striking his femur. Mr. Byers fell to the ground and played dead while Shick moved on, wounding four others and killing one before he was fatally shot by police.

Mr. Gagliardino said his client suffered from lingering problems due to the shooting.

“He was still having issues. He had surgery as recent as last summer,” Mr. Gagliardino said. “All of his injuries involved the repair of his leg that was shot because his bones were shattered.”

Mr. Byers found work for a time with Lowe’s, but the job “proved to be a little too involved for him under his particular circumstances,” Mr. Gagliardino said.

Mr. Byers filed a complaint in 2013 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against numerous parties, including UPMC, University of Pittsburgh Physicians, the University of Pittsburgh and Shick’s mother. The complaint said Mr. Byers had a gunshot wound of the left leg and knee and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The claim was resolved in the early part of the year,” Mr. Gagliardino said. He declined further comment.

The legal issues arising from the shooting remain unresolved. Former UPMC receptionist Kathryn Leight, who was gravely wounded, last month continued fighting to have her case heard in civil court.