Cops: He Lost His Job, Then Started Shooting

38-year-old Pennsylvania man dead in attempted murder-suicide
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 1, 2020 11:24 AM CDT
Cops: He Lost His Job, Then Started Shooting
Pictured here is a pistol and cartridges.   (Getty Images/SolidMaks)

Police say a Pennsylvania man who had recently lost his job and was becoming more and more upset about the coronavirus pandemic shot his girlfriend and then himself in an attempted murder-suicide on Monday. Roderick Bliss, 38, was pronounced dead of "obvious gunshot injuries" and his death ruled a suicide, according to Wilson Borough Police. His girlfriend is expected to survive but is in intensive care with a gunshot wound to the back, reports the Morning Call. The 43-year-old woman was among those who told police that Bliss had "become increasingly upset over the COVID-19 pandemic," per NBC News.

Before shooting his girlfriend, police say Bliss told her, "I already talked to God and I have to do this." The two were on a back porch, and as she started to run from him "he shot at her four times striking her once" before turning the gun on himself, say police. "This is a very stressful time for all of us—even those who might not have previously dealt with mental health issues," Lisa Cozzi, director of Lehigh County Crisis Intervention and Information Referral, tells the Morning Call. (More shooting stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X