Dormont officer shot in line of duty shares story: 'It makes you grateful to be here every day'
DORMONT, Pa. (KDKA) - A Dormont police officer shot in the line of duty is sharing his story for the first time only with KDKA.
Officer Robert Barnes was shot when he and his partner responded to a call for backup after a Mt. Lebanon man had just shot and killed his parents.
After a year of recovering, Dormont police officer Robert Barnes is back on the force. The suspect used an AR-15. He tells KDKA's Jennifer Borrasso a ballistics expert told him he's very fortunate to be alive.
"He said pretty casually, 'bro, let me tell you something.' I said 'yeah, go ahead.' He's like, 'it's better to be lucky than good. You shouldn't be here.'"
In so many ways, Barnes shouldn't be here, shouldn't be holding his newborn baby boy, shouldn't be back on the force at Dormont police.
It was July 29, 2021 when Barnes and his partner responded to a call for backup for the Mt. Lebanon police.
"Mt. Lebanon had a call for a male who killed his family, or so he said he did, and wanted to surrender," Barnes said.
Barnes and his partner were positioned in the front of the suspect's home when he came out firing multiple rounds with an AR-15. One of the bullets hit Barnes in the stomach.
"What I remember after the second or third shot I felt like a baseball bat hit me in the side. We got cover obviously. He continued shooting at us," Barnes said.
The suspect fled the scene. When police pursued him, he wrecked and then shot himself.
For Barnes, all he could think of was his family.
"My wife was seven months pregnant at the time. Obviously I'd be lying if that didn't cross my mind," he said.
The adrenaline kicked in. He suffered severe bruising. Fortunately, the vest he was wearing saved his life.
"You can see the fibers that were strong enough to slow down the bullet even though it wasn't supposed to," Barnes explained. He said the bullet hit plastic and ricocheted down into his soft body armor.
For a year, he couldn't work. Now the 9-year veteran is back.
"Always nice to be able to get back in the routine of what you've trained your whole life to do," he said.
With everything he's been through, you might think Barnes wants to move on. Instead, the bullet, a reminder of the worst moment of his life, now sits on a shelf inside his home, a constant reminder of everything that matters.
"It makes you grateful to be here every day. It gives you a different outlook on life, to realize how close you can come to not being here in one moment, especially in this profession, there are obvious dangers," he said.
United States Attorney Cindy Chung is presenting Barnes with a Courage Under Hostile Fire award at Monday's council meeting at 7 p.m.off