The family of an Ohio man who was fatally shot outside a popular North Charleston hotel during a Memorial Day vacation is shocked that he was slain in a place he thought was safe.

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Anybody with information about the shooting can leave a tip with Crime Stoppers at 843-554-1111.

Someone targeted Barri Shank, a 35-year-old banker, about 12:30 a.m. May 30 as he walked his dogs outside the Hyatt Place near the Charleston Area Convention Center, according to his brother, Ben Shank.

His wife came outside after the shooting and found him bleeding on the ground.

“I’m sure he was just minding his own business,” his brother said. “Maybe he saw something he wasn’t supposed to.”

The unsolved killing was one of 15 homicides recorded this year in North Charleston. The city accounts for half of all 2016 slayings in the tri-county area.

Disturbed by Barri Shank’s death, loved ones nationwide have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to an online fundraiser in hopes of boosting a reward for his killer’s capture.

Shank and his wife, Nicole, flew into the Charleston airport May 29 from Cleveland, where he was director of Debt Capital Markets for PNC Bank. They rented a car and headed to the Hyatt Place hotel on West Montague Avenue near International Boulevard. They planned to stay the night before heading to Hilton Head for a few days of vacation.

Shank parked the car and let their two dogs take care of business while his wife went into the hotel. He was shot outside the car. He stumbled toward the front door and collapsed, where his wife found him and dialed 911.

The two had been married for 16 months.

“My husband is bleeding,” she told the operator. “He’s been shot. We’re at the Hyatt. Please come right away. … He’s holding his stomach. … Keep breathing, sweetie. … I’m just trying to stop the bleeding.”

Shank was talking when police arrived. When asked who shot him, he said, “I have no idea.”

He died shortly after arriving at Medical University Hospital.

Barri Shank was fatally shot May 30 outside the Hyatt Place hotel in North Charleston while visiting from Ohio on vacation with wife Nicole.

What led to the shooting remains a mystery to the public.

The North Charleston Police Department has released little information about the crime. Capt. Scott Perry said he expects to have an update Tuesday.

Mayor Keith Summey also declined to comment through a spokesman.

Several witnesses told investigators that they heard a pop and saw a vehicle leave the scene, according to an incident report. Police have not identified the make and model of the car.

Officers said they were unable to find any evidence in the parking lot. Hotel workers told investigators that they did not have a surveillance camera where Shank was shot. An employee who called 911 after the gunfire could offer little information.

“I don’t know anything,” she said during the call.

For Shank, North Charleston had become the last destination in his world travels.

After being raised in St. Clairsville, Ohio, according to his obituary, he earned degrees in accounting and finance from the University of Pittsburgh. A semester at Bond University in Australia inspired his love of travel. He visited countries on five continents, got engaged to his wife in Orvieto, Italy, and spent their honeymoon in Santiago, Chile.

His family thought the Charleston area would be safe.

“We never expected something like this,” Ben Shank said. “It’s kind of alarming.”

The shooting came just weeks after strangers fatally shot a popular musician and bartender outside The Sparrow in North Charleston’s Park Circle area.

Eric Brantley, 43, had just finished his shift at the bar and was heading toward his motorcycle in the parking lot when he was shot and robbed by two 17-year-olds who police say were driving around while looking for a victim. The two teens were arrested on a murder charge.

Since Shank was slain, two more homicides have been reported in North Charleston, though police said the people involved in those killings knew each other.

“We’re shocked to hear it’s happening there,” Matt Tranter, an attorney in Bethlehem, Pa., and a longtime friend of Shank’s, said Monday. “There are a lot of people all over the country who are watching this to see what happens.”

Shank’s family has raised more than $20,000 on a GoFundMe site to help prompt tips leading to the perpetrator.

“We are hopeful that by doing this, we may be able to get justice for Barri,” his brother said on the site, “but also prevent other families from suffering through this same nightmare.”

Reach Dave Munday at 843-937-5553.

 

 

Source: http://www.charlestonscene.com/20160606/160609590/killing-of-ohio-man-outside-north-charleston-hotel-shocks-family-who-thought-area-was-safe

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