Paige Barckhoff looked across her front lawn, waved and smiled at the police officer starting up his Ford pickup and departing for work.

“There goes Brian,” she thought to herself Friday afternoon. “Brian's headed off to work.”

The officer, Brian Shaw, waved back and flashed a familiar smile as he headed to his 3 p.m. shift at the New Kensington Police Department.

Shaw pulled out of his Lower Burrell driveway, and Barckhoff continued mowing her lawn.

Later, she'd see Shaw's smiling face flash across the television news. He had been shot and killed after pulling over an SUV near the 1200 block of Leishman Street about 8:10 p.m. Friday.

“I saw his face on TV, and I couldn't believe it,” Barckhoff said through tears Saturday. “I still can't believe it. It's so horrible.”

Childhood friends, colleagues and neighbors struggled to process the loss of Shaw as they shared stories of the proud police officer from a generous, caring family.

Brandon Schaber, 27, of Lower Burrell grew up alongside Shaw, riding bicycles, shooting hoops, playing video games, running track at Burrell High School and, later, sharing their dreams.

“He wanted to pursue law enforcement. I wanted to pursue the military,” Schaber said. “We both went at it, and we fulfilled those dreams.”

Shaw went off to Slippery Rock University. Schaber, a year ahead of him, joined the Marines.

“Brian just wanted to help people,” Schaber said. “It's the truth. He wanted to make the community better. We would be going to the store, and he'd get something off the shelf for an older person. He always took the time to look around to see if someone needed help.”

Mary Kay Sedlacek, another Lower Burrell neighbor on Riverview Street, recalled Shaw always coming to help if she was shoveling snow in her driveway.

David Magill, owner of Mogie's Irish Pub in Lower Burrell, said Shaw would hang around to walk female employees to their cars safely when they left late at night.

“These were the kind of guys we wanted around the place,” Magill said. “He was a sweetheart kid. We all have broken hearts.”

Schaber said Shaw's parents, Stephan and Lisa, instilled a sense of kindness and generosity in their son.

Shaw has an older brother, Steffan, who is a Penn Hills police officer.

“I've been in foster care pretty much my entire life and, over the years, Brian's parents let me stay here,” Schaber said. “There was a period when I was there almost a year. They're amazing, gracious people. They always cooked more food than they should have just to make sure you ate. Those are the little things that I won't forget.”

When they grew older, Schaber and Shaw got tattoos together.

“You would think we were attached at the hip,” Schaber said.

Shaw graduated in 2010 from Burrell High School, where he played soccer and football and ran on the track team. At Slippery Rock University, he was the place kicker for the football team. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and went on to the Allegheny County Police Academy.

Slippery Rock head football coach Shawn Lutz, who was an associate coach when Shaw played there, said Shaw wasn't afraid to make a tackle on kickoffs.

“He was such a good athlete, he could have probably played another position,” he said. “He was very social and very popular on the football team.”

Even in discussions with Lutz, Shaw talked about a career as a police officer.

“I knew that was his path, no doubt about it,” Lutz said. “He was always talking about the youth and making a difference in kids' lives.”

Before joining the New Kensington Police Department in June, he worked in East Deer, Frazer and Cheswick police departments, according to an obituary.

“He was a great guy and really cared about his job,” said Hillary Weaver, an assistant district attorney for Westmoreland County. “Working in law enforcement, you always know these things can happen. But for someone so young and so good at what he did, it's never any less shocking.”

Weaver on Saturday stopped by the New Kensington Fire Department on Fourth Street to drop off pepperoni rolls, sandwiches and cookies at a makeshift command center for police officers from other jurisdictions assisting in the investigation of Shaw's killing.

“It's just one way to pay my respects,” she said. “This obviously is a very difficult time for people in the region.”

Shaw and Schaber were busy with their jobs and didn't hang out as much of late. They texted frequently. Schaber works as a security supervisor at Uber Advanced Technologies Group in Pittsburgh.

A month ago, they bumped into each other at a bowling alley and talked about getting together soon.

Schaber was headed to a midnight shift Friday night when a friend called with the news about Shaw.

He pulled off into a gas station, called off work and drove home.

“It's hard for me to describe the pain and shock,” he said. “I still can't believe this. Man, it's crazy. That kid was amazing.”

Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Bencschmitt.

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