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Armstrong Co. Fight Leaves 1 Man Dead

KITTANNING (KDKA) – Police are investigating after a fight in Kittanning left one person dead early Sunday morning.

According to police, the incident happened around 1 a.m. on Montieth Street, where two or more men squared off. They didn't use any weapons, but in the course of the fight, one man was killed.

The victim was 39-year-old James Sullivan of Chicora.

"I feel so broken, and so lost and so empty," his sister Michelle Slater said.

Sullivan leaves big shoes to fill. The only brother in a family of four sisters -- and at 5 feet 11 inches tall and 225 pounds, his family says the only thing bigger was his heart.

"No matter how big or small the need, he he'd find a way to be there for you," Slater said.

"He was my rock," his mother said.

Early Sunday morning, Slater drove her mother to the hospital.

"It was so hard to get the news," she said. "You knew when they came in that room, he was gone."

Deputy Coroner Brian Myers said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and abdomen.

St. Patrick's Day is special in the Sullivan household. Before the fight, Sullivan and his friends stopped at the "Wick City Saloon."

He was found on Montieth Street laying in the road -- just across from the bar. Police say several skirmishes were going on at the same time.

"But this was a major incident obviously, and this was where the crowd had gathered," Kittanning Police Chief Ed Cassesse said.

Now investigators need help from the crowd.

"Either in the bar or the street who may have witnessed the events leading to Mr. Sullivan's death to come forward," Armstrong County District Attorney Scott Andreassi said.

There have been some related postings on Facebook.

"If they caught something on their video, let us know," State Police Lt. Steve Ignatz said.

No arrests have been made, but police have identified the other person involved in the fight.

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