A Pennsylvania gunman killed a woman decorating for a Christmas party inside a church and then shot dead two neighbors in the driveway of a home before being slain by state troopers yesterday, authorities said.
The killer, identified by CBS News as Jeffrey Lee Michael, of Hollidaysburg, kicked off his murderous spree by shooting dead the woman in church, according to cops.
He then shot two male neighbors in the tiny village of Geeseytown, about 70 miles west of Harrisburg, possibly after a road-rage incident, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“This person went to their driveway with a pistol, pointed at them, and started shooting,” said Marie Brenneman, a cousin of one of the men.
Michael fired at cops who arrived at the scene, and police eventually shot him dead.
“It’s going to take us some time to put this all together . . . and know exactly what occurred,” said Lt. Col. George Bivens, deputy state-police commissioner.
The female victim at Juniata Valley Gospel Church had cooked food the day before for the funeral of the longtime pastor, said the Rev. James McCaulley, his brother.
The church was still reeling from the Rev. David McCaulley’s death when the woman returned to decorate the church hall and bullets ripped through a window, he said.
The gunman then entered and fatally shot the woman before he left, the Rev. James McCaulley said.
Two troopers driving to the scene of one shooting were fired upon by the driver of a pickup truck headed in the other direction, and the truck smashed head-on into a cruiser driven by a third trooper.
The truck driver, believed to be the gunman who killed the other victims, jumped out of the vehicle and fired at the troopers, who returned fire and killed him, Finn said.