Two men died at the scene, a third man died at a local hospital
· Suspected gunman Rockne Newell was shot and received treatment at a local hospital before being taken into custody
· Police say suspected gunman was wrestled to the ground by two people before officers arrived
· Newell has had a long-standing dispute with the township
· Was trying to raise $10,000 to fund his legal battle against authorities
Three people were shot dead Monday night at a town meeting in Pennsylvania.
Rockne Newell, 59, who was feuding with Ross Township officials over living conditions at his home, is accused of firing gunshots through the wall before bursting into the municipal building.
Pennsylvania state police said he was tackled to the ground and shot in the leg.
Witnesses said the gunman went to his car to get another weapon before he was tackled.
At least two people were injured in the shootout and at least one of the three men shot dead was a town official.
'I heard more than 10 shots,' Pocono Record reporter Chris Reber said, who was at the meeting.
'It was automatic, like a string of firecrackers.'
State police said about 15 to 18 residents and town officials were at the building, a short drive from Newell's property, when the gunfire erupted.
Two people died at the scene, and a third person died after being flown to a hospital.
A woman was undergoing surgery late Monday.
One person was shot in the leg, two were shot in the stomach and one was shot in the head, according to the Pocono Record.
Investigators said Newell began shooting as he approached the building and continued as he walked into and through it.
He then went back out to his vehicle in the parking lot, retrieved a handgun and went back into the building, firing more shots, police said.
Reber said he was at the township building when a man armed with a long gun with a scope shot through a wall into the meeting.
'The thing that got my attention: plaster flying out, blowing out through the walls. Witnesses would later tell me they saw pictures exploding away from the walls,' Reber said in the first-person account told to his editors Marta Gouger and Chris Mele.
He said he crawled out to a hallway, exited the building and took cover behind a vehicle.
'The gunman was this guy wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt,' he said. 'I saw him go back out to his car, a silver Impala, and get another gun.
'It wasn't real to me until I went back inside and saw people bleeding.'
A township official tending to the wounded man was able to wrestle the gunman to the ground, actually shooting him with his own gun during the scuffle, Reber added.
‘(West End Open Space Commission executive director) Bernie Kozen was there tending to the man and he (the shooter) didn't see them,’ Reber continued. ‘Bernie bearhugged him and took him down. He shot (the shooter) with his own gun.’
‘Mr. Kozen is a true hero tonight,’ Rep. Matt Cartwright, who represents the state's 17th District Cartwright said.
Newell had been in a long-running dispute with township officials over the dilapidated condition of his property, state police Capt. Edward Hoke said.
The township supervisors voted in February 2012 to take legal action against Newell for violating zoning and sewer regulations, according to meeting minutes posted online.
SCRIPTURES:
GENESIS 27:40 And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
HABAKKUK 2:8Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.
9Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
10Thou hast consulted shame to thy house by cutting off many people, and hast sinned against thy soul.
11For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.
12Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and stablisheth a city by iniquity!
______________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment