An acquaintance of the shooter said he must've "snapped."
Police say there were no obvious clues that 59-year-old Rockne Newell intended to kill Ross Township, Pa., officials with whom he was upset over a property dispute, but a man who said he is acquainted with the shooter said the showdown seemed inevitable.
Newell opened fire Monday night at a board of supervisors’ meeting, killing zoning officer and Chestnuthill Township Supervisor David Fleetwood, 62, and Ross Township residents James V. LaGuardia, 64, and Gerard J. Kozic, 53, police say. He allegedly wounded three others.
Court papers indicate Newell intended to go down shooting, but Ross Township residents Bernie Kozen and Mark Kresh wrestled him to the ground and held him until police arrived. Newell suffered a gunshot wound to the leg in the scuffle.
Newell, of the 200 block of Flyte Road, had legally sparred with Ross Township for years, according to state police. Most recently, his property was condemned, police say, and sold to the township in a sheriff’s sale.
At his arraignment on homicide charges this morning, a judge asked Newell if he owned any real estate.
“They stole it from me. That’s what started all this,” he replied.
Henry McCormick, of Effort, Pa., said he was acquainted with Newell.
McCormick had come this morning to visit the township municipal building, which was cordoned off with yellow police tape as officers led witnesses inside to recount the shooting.
“As soon as I got the alert, I knew it was him," McCormick said. "I think there were other ways around it. Something snapped in him yesterday and I guess he thought enough is enough. But he wasn’t just upset yesterday. He was upset a long time.”
Newell was described by McCormick and township resident Dave Sweazy as a “loner.”
Sweazy said he didn’t know the suspect but had seen him on the news over the years, upset about issues with the township and his property.
In June, the Pocono Record published an article describing an 18-year fight between the township and Newell over his property, which includes an old camper filled with wooden pallets, a leaning garage close to collapse and a propane tank inside an old dog house.
Among the past complaints about Newell's property were that he lived in a storage shed, built an illegal culvert and used a bucket outside as a toilet.
Township supervisors voted in February 2012 to take legal action against Newell for alleged zoning and sewer regulations. In October, he set up a fundraising page online to try to raise $10,000 for legal fees.
The fundraiser, which has since been removed from the site, was titled “saveRockyshome.” The fundraiser ended on Oct. 19, 2012, and no money was raised, according to a cached screenshot of the fundraising page.
“I need to clean up & I need a lawyer, I have no place to go and my 2 rescue dogs will be put to sleep because no one else will take them,” the description for the fundraiser reads. He also wrote in the description that he lived off $600 a month in Social Security benefits and had no money to clean his property.
Terry Doll, who lives near Newell, said Newell was well-known as a “kook,” an intelligent man whose unpredictability stoked fear in some neighbors.
“When I found out about the shooting, we all looked at each other and said his name,” said Doll, 58, who has lived in her house for more than 30 years. “We certainly always hoped that he would have never done something like this.”
Police search Hamilton Twp. home; investigation remains open
State police said Tuesday that the handgun Newell had brought back into the municipal building after firing 28 rounds from a rifle was legally owned. Authorities are still investigating his ownership of the Ruger Mini-14 .223 caliber rifle he allegedly used to kill three people.
State police Lt. Col. George Bivens said authorities brought in a special response team to ensure the Flyte Road property was not armed with traps.
“It was a legitimate fear,” Bivens said.
State police Lt. Robert Bartal said police have secured a third scene in Hamilton Township, where they believe Newell had been staying most recently. He said that property is near the home of Newell’s father. Police have said they do not believe the elder Newell or anyone else had any help in planning or executing the deadly attack.
The suspect’s vehicle, a rental with Texas license plates, was also being searched by investigators, Bartal said.
Police said Newell’s criminal record consisted of a single reckless endangerment conviction from the 1980s and nothing since. Authorities said they had not responded to or investigated any recent threats or harassing behavior between Newell and township officials.
Court papers indicate the suspect was targeting supervisors and the township solicitor, but Bivens said that once inside the building it appeared Newell shot around the room at random.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing.
Newell is being held in the Monroe County jail without bail, on charges of murder and attempted murder.