Police: Argument between bar patron, security led to shootout that injured 5 in Pittsburgh

Charges filed against a Pittsburgh man appear to show that a heated argument between a bar patron and security led to a shooting which sent five people to the hospital, three in critical condition, on Wednesday night.

Dean Marbury, 43, of Pittsburgh was charged Thursday with four counts each of aggravated assault and reckless endangering, along with weapons charges, in connection with the incident, which occurred at Jay’s Lounge in the city’s Middle Hill neighborhood.

Marbury was one of three people to arrive at area hospitals following the shooting, which took place around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday night. Police responded to three rapid ShotSpotter alerts to find two people shot in Jay’s Lounge on Webster Avenue — one who’d been shot four times in the right bicep, right side of the stomach and right hip, and another shot once in the left hip, according to court records.

Dispatchers advised police shortly afterward that three additional gunshot victims had arrived at local hospitals, two at UPMC Mercy and Marbury at UPMC Presbyterian. Marbury had been shot 11 times. Police said he knocked on a local front door, and the man who answered agreed to transport him to the hospital.

Police believe the incident played out over three locations, after finding bullet casings and fragments both inside and outside Jay’s Lounge, as well as on nearby Perry Street.

Surveillance footage from inside the bar shows Marbury getting into a steadily escalating argument with two security guards, police said. One of the guards attempted to force Marbury to leave, and shortly afterward both Marbury and one of the security guards pull firearms and begin shooting at one another. Both guards then exit the bar and Marbury remains inside for an additional 20 seconds, according to a criminal complaint.

Video surveillance from a business on the 2100 block of Webster Avenue shows the guards exiting Jay’s Lounge and taking up positions at the side of the building closest to Perry Street, and on a nearby fire escape. Police said both guards then resumed shooting at Marbury as he walked out of the bar. He returned fire and ran toward the rear of the building, according to court records.

County sheriffs and K-9 searched the area and found an unregistered 9mm “ghost” handgun covered in blood in some bushes along Perry Street, as well as a magazine for ammunition.

“Ghost” guns are weapons with no serial number, which can be bought in pieces online and assembled at home, or even created using a 3D printer. In a court decision earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a federal regulation aimed at reducing their use.

During an interview with police, Marbury said he did not have a gun in his possession at the bar and did not know who shot him. Thirty minutes after concluding the interview, a UPMC Presbyterian employee called to say Marbury was attempting to check himself out of the hospital.

A background check revealed that Marbury is not permitted to have a concealed-carry permit based on his prior criminal record.

A preliminary hearing date on the charges has not been set.