Ross Township Municipal Building shooting
The Ross Township Municipal Building shooting occurred just after 7:00 p.m. on August 5, 2013, in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, United States, a small town in Monroe County. A gunman went on a shooting rampage at a public meeting of township supervisors in the municipal building, leaving three people dead and three others injured. The gunman, identified as Rockne Warren Newell, was described as having long feuded with township officials.
Ross Township Municipal Building shooting | |
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Location | Ross Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Date | August 5, 2013 |
Attack type | Triple murder, mass shooting |
Weapons |
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Deaths | 3 |
Injured | 4 (including the perpetrator) |
Perpetrator | Rockne Warren Newell |
Motive | Land dispute |
While approaching the building on foot, Newell fired a .223 Ruger Mini-14 rifle into the building 28 times, through windows. Then, he went back to his car to retrieve a 6-shot .44 Magnum Revolver before entering the building and the meeting room. There, he began shooting the handgun at meeting attendees. While the gunman was still shooting, two men struggled with him over the gun. They subdued, disarmed, and held him, preventing further deaths and injuries.
Linda Kozic, Frank Pirano, and Howard Beers were injured; while David Fleetwood, Gerard Kozic, and James "Vinny" LaGuardia were fatally wounded. During the struggle over the gun with Bernard Kozen and Mark Krashe, the gunman was wounded in the leg with his own weapon.[1][2][3]
Legal proceedings
Newell pleaded guilty to three counts of first degree murder and attempted murder charges on May 29, 2015, and was sentenced to three life terms and was given an additional 61 to 122 years for the attempted murder charges and is currently imprisoned in the State Correctional Institution – Rockview[4][5]
See also
- Kirkwood City Council shooting, a similar earlier case
- Carl Drega, a similar earlier case
- Moscone–Milk assassinations, a similar earlier case
- James E. Davis (councilman), a New York City councilman, who was assassinated in city hall
References
- "Pa. State Police: Feud With Township Officials Motive In Shooting At Municipal Building « CBS Philly". Philadelphia.cbslocal.com. 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
- "Township official honored for saving others in shooting rampage at municipal building". Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- "Photos: Staten Island's James LaGuardia, slain at Pennsylvania town meeting, is fondly remembered at funeral". Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- McDonald, Joe. Pennsylvania man gets life for rampage at Pocono building, Reuters, May 29, 2015.
- http://inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov/#/Result