Updated Tuesday evening with images.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are seeking information on a robbery Sunday evening at the Big Y Express gas station and convenience store on West Street. 

 

The robbery was reported at about 4:55 p.m. Responding officers learned that a man had entered the conenience store, made a threat to an employee and demanded money. No weapon was displayed. 

 

The man was given an amount of cash and he left the area, most likely on foot. No one was injured during the incident.

 

The suspect is described as being white or Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s, approximately 5-foot-9 or shorter with dark brown eyes and bushy eyebrows. He was wearing a gray and black Adidas ball cap, light blue or gray face covering, dark sweatshirt, blue and black backpack, gray sweat pants, and red Nike sneakers. 

 

Images from the store's video surveillance system will be released at a later date.

 

Anyone who may have information is asked to contact Lt. John Soules at 413-448-9700, Ext. 599. Information can also be provided anonymously via the Tip Line at 413-448-9706, texting PITTIP and your message to TIP411 (847411).

PITTISFIELD, Mass. — Firefighters were able to save two structures from significant damage over the weekend.

 

The first occurred on Saturday morning in a two-unit apartment building at 126 Union St. that the Fire Department said was caused by "careless disposal of smoking materials."

 

Three engines and the ladder truck responded at 9:17 a.m. to reports of smoke detectors going off in one of the apartments in the two-story, wood-frame building.

 

"Upon arrival we found smoke showing from a first-floor window," Deputy Chief Daniel Garner reported. Engine 5 secured the water supply while Engine 2 searched the building. 

 

The fire was contained to a first-floor bedroom. No one was injured but damage was estimated at $5,000. The occupants of the apartment were provided with temporary accommodations by the Red Cross but residents in the other apartment were allowed to return to their home. 

 

The second fire occurred Sunday evening at 6:33 p.m. at 42 Plunkett St. The fire was in the rear of the three-story building. 

 

"Upon arrival we found fire on the rear third-floor deck and extending up along siding and under the deck roof," said Deputy Chief Neil Myers.

 

The top apartment suffered fire and water damage in the rear and minor smoke damage throughout. Myers estimated damage at $5,000. 

 

All the occupants were able to get out of the building and no one was injured, including a cat and dog that were in the apartment's front bedroom. 

 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation but all the occupants were able to return to their homes. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Police are seeking information about a shooting on Friday night that injured a city man. 

 

Police were alerted by ShotSpotter that "numerous rounds" were being fired in the 300 Block on Fenn Street at about 10:40 p.m. The alert was followed by multiple 911 calls from citizens.

 

Officers responded to the area and discovered numerous shell casings. In addition to the shell casings, officers discovered that a parked vehicle and a nearby residence were struck by bullets.

 

As officers continued their on-scene investigation, Berkshire Medical Center

notified dispatch that a gunshot victim was in the Emergency Department. Officers responded to the hospital and interviewed a 33-year-old Pittsfield resident who had been shot in the foot. 

 

The circumstances surrounding the shooting are being investigated by the Pittsfield Police Detective Unit. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Lt. Michael Maddalena at 413-448-9705, Ext. 574.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Two Pittsfield firefighters on Wednesday rescued a dog that fell through the ice on a pond off Gale Avenue.

 

Craig Eggleston and Jeremy Ostrander donned ice water rescue suits to successfully retrieve the dog. A video posted by Police Officer Darren Derby show them crawling out onto the small pond that had large patches of water.

 

The small dog's head was above the water and his front paws on the ice, trying to climb up. One of the firefighters was able to pick up the dog, bring it to shore and hand the pup off to his owners. 

 

The call came in about 8:15 a.m. to the Police Department of a dog stuck in the pond near 538 Gale Ave.

 

Deputy Fire Chief Daniel Garner later on Wednesday said Engine Co. 1 was dispatched around 8:30 to the wooded area at the end of Gale Avenue where a medium-size pointer/terrier-type dog had fallen through the ice of a marshy pond.

 

 

The animal had been in the water at least 20 minutes.

 

"Firefighters successfully retrieved the dog from the icy water and returned him to his much relieved owners," stated a Facebook post by Pittsfield Fire Department I.A.F.F 2647. 

 

The Fire Department report states the dog "is expected to make a full recovery" and Garner added that the dog was "doing well."

 

Editor's note: Comments by Deputy Chief Garner added to story, day changed to the correct one.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Authorities are investigating the death of a Pittsfield man who was hit and killed by a train late Tuesday afternoon.

 

Rodney Sumner, 54, died in the collision shortly after 4 p.m. Investigators believe Sumner was in the area observing nearby construction and was unable to get out of the path of the eastbound train.

 

According to reports in The Berkshire Eagle, Sumner had apparently been watching the demolition work on the Tel-Electric dam on Mill Street for most of the day. The man was apparently on the tracks above the river between South Church Street and Mill Street when a train came through and was unable to get off in time.  

 

A statement from the Berkshire district attorney's office says investigators did not find evidence of Sumner being distracted or impaired. Pittsfield Police are investigating the death as accidental.

 

According to Amtrak's Twitter alert account, the Lakeshore Limited Train 448 that departed Chicago on Monday was currently east of Pittsfield "due to a trespasser incident." A following tweet stated the train would not continue on to Boston but that alternative transportation would be provided. 

 

The $3.8 million Mill Street dam removal project began last August. The defunct am has been considered a hazard for nearly two decades. 

 

Pittsfield Police, the district attorney's office, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner responded to the scene. The investigation is ongoing.