Ali Sullivan
The Virginian-Pilot
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Portsmouth firefighter, called to a neighborhood to deal with fallen wires, tried to break up a fistfight between two men who had a history of not getting along.
But one of the neighbors pulled a gun and opened fire — and the firefighter took a bullet to the elbow.
It’s unclear whether last Monday’s shooting is the first time one of Portsmouth’s firefighters has been shot in the line of duty. The fire department did not respond to an inquiry Friday. Injuries that firefighters suffer on the job, however, typically don’t involve violence.
The department isn’t releasing the identity of the firefighter, who was released from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital at 2 a.m. Tuesday. The other man shot in the incident was not identified either, nor did police divulge details about his injuries, aside from describing them as non-life-threatening.
Portsmouth firefighters responded to a call in the 600 block of Surry Street for downed wires when the fight broke out between the two neighbors.
Donald Parker, 44, was arrested Tuesday, charged with shooting the firefighter and another man. His preliminary hearing is slated for Aug. 6.
Portsmouth police’s investigation into the incident is ongoing. In a statement posted to Facebook, Portsmouth’s firefighters union said the call for wires down is “fairly routine” — one that firefighters respond to “every shift.”
Raven Hedricks, who lives across the street from where the shooting occurred, said Parker often caused tension on the block — a community that she and other residents described as close-knit.
Police were “always being called” on Parker, who had been convicted on eight felony charges prior to the Monday shooting, Hedricks said.
“We’re feeling relieved that he’s gone,” Hedricks said.
Hedricks, 26, had stepped outside with her 3-year-old daughter in her arms when the dispute between Parker and his next-door neighbor began. Hedricks noted that the two had issues with one another prior to the dispute.
The altercation escalated into a physical fight — punches were thrown — before Parker pulled out a firearm and started shooting.
Hedricks and her daughter fled into her home when Parker opened fire, and she later returned alone to check on her neighbor. Hedricks couldn’t tell where he had been shot, adding that there was “blood everywhere.”
Hedricks says her daughter hasn’t since stopped talking about the shooting.
In the days after the incident, a group of Portsmouth firefighters stopped by Hedrick’s house to drop off toys and a card for her daughter — a gesture Hedricks says she’ll “never forget.”
“There are good people in this world,” Hedricks said.
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