Friends and neighbors of Reginald Bernard Harrod said they were shocked and confused after the 59-year-old was fatally shot Saturday night outside his North Baltimore home.
Harrod, who mainly went by his middle name, was remembered as a friendly face on Springfield Avenue, a small street off The Alameda on the edge of the Original Northwood and New Northwood neighborhoods. The maintenance worker was known by people from all walks of life, his friends said.
Baltimore Police said over the weekend that officers responded at 11:14 p.m. Saturday to the 1100 block of Springfield Avenue for a reported shooting and found the 59-year-old suffering from gunshot wounds to his abdomen. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. Police identified him Tuesday morning.
A neighbor who asked not to be identified for safety reasons said Harrod had been shot in the street near his home.
“I don’t know why someone would do that,” the neighbor said, recalling the police lights up the road. “He was a nice guy. Didn’t bother anybody.”
In recent weeks, Harrod had been excitedly planning his 60th birthday party, where the planned theme was “cowboy attire,” said Sean Marshall, a DJ and longtime friend of Harrod’s whose services had been contracted for the November event.
Harrod worked as a “very skilled maintenance technician” for the Housing Authority of Baltimore City and specialized in plumbing work, said Marshall, who worked with him. The public housing authority declined to comment or confirm Harrod’s employment, citing the active investigation into his death.
The Northwestern High School graduate had proudly hailed from West Baltimore’s George B. Murphy Homes public housing complex, which was demolished in 1999, his friend said.
A lot of people were close with Harrod, including his neighbors on Springfield Avenue and his fellow regulars at Chuck’s New Johnson’s Lounge in Midtown-Edmondson. Harrod liked to call himself “Pillar,” a nickname Marshall didn’t completely understand, though most people referred to him as “Unc Nard” — he was sort of everyone’s uncle.
“He was just a funny guy,” said Marshall.