Man injured shielding girl from gunfire, family says
A North Braddock man is being lauded as a hero after he was shot multiple times last week while reportedly protecting a young girl from harm.
Police responded to reports of gunshots the evening of May 28 at the intersection of Third Street and Reeves Way in North Braddock and found 24-year-old Jaimire Dutrieuille on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to his head, arm and buttock. Mr. Dutrieuille was transported to UPMC Presbyterian in critical condition, where he remained hospitalized this week, according to his mother, Heather Brooks-Ragin.
According to Ms. Brooks-Ragin, Mr. Dutrieuille — a graduate of Woodland Hills High School and Slippery Rock University — was standing on the porch of a home with a friend and the friend’s 9year-old niece and infant son when the shooter approached. The friend went into the house with his son and closed the door.
Then Mr. Dutrieuille shielded the 9-year-old from bullets as the perpetrator fired three shots at him, Ms. Brooks-Ragin said.
North Braddock police could not confirm whether Mr. Dutrieuille shielded the girl. But Officer Larry Butler said Wednesday that when the shooter approached, Mr. Dutrieuille’s friend went into the house with his infant son and locked the 9-year-old outside with Mr. Dutrieuille. The girl was unharmed.
A man at that house refused to answer the door this week.
Allegheny County Police homicide Sgt. Venerando Costa said the department had no suspects and had made no arrests related to the case.
In the wake of the shooting, people have come together to help Mr. Dutrieuille and his family. A GoFundMe account established for the benefit of Mr. Dutrieuille has surpassed its $8,000 goal, and a post about Mr. Dutrieuille’s “heroic actions” by his former basketball coach at Woodland Hills High School has been shared more than 950 times on Facebook since Monday.
The coach, Mike Decker, characterized his former player as an “outstanding citizen” in an interview Tuesday, adding that he believes Mr. Dutrieuille was “at the wrong place at the wrong time” and that his actions motivated people across the country — some of whom have never met him — to donate.
“Jay saved that little girl’s life, in my opinion,” Mr. Decker said. “I think that just immediately strikes a chord with anybody.”
Although doctors initially believed Mr. Dutrieuille might lose his vision after the bullet to his head struck his optic nerve, they have seen “miraculous” improvement, his mother said Tuesday. They plan to move Mr. Dutrieuille to UPMC Mercy this week to begin a rehabilitation program.
“He’s having full-blown conversations. It’s amazing to watch,” Ms. Brooks-Ragin said. “If I didn’t see it myself, I wouldn’t believe the miraculous change that has taken place over his life — because again, they were saying he was touchand-go.”