A husband and wife were found gunned down in the street following a violent argument with their neighbour, who was then found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his nearby home.
Three people died in a Pennsylvania shooting that stemmed from a dispute over snow clearance.
Police say that the violence unfolded in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, during Monday’s heavy snowstorm and that neighbours reported hearing a dozen shots shortly after 9am.
District attorney Stefanie Salavantis said there had been existing friction between the neighbours but that “this morning, the dispute was exacerbated by a disagreement over snow disposal.»
The prosecutor added that the deadly incident happened when the shooter “exited his residence and fired upon the couple, killing both husband and wife.»
Elsewhere, authorities in Allentown, Pennsylvania, say that a woman who wandered away from her home during the storm was found dead.
Patricia Becker, 67, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died from hypothermia four blocks from where she lived.
Police and the coroner’s office are investigating the death, which has been ruled as accidental.
The powerful winter storm stretched from Pennsylvania to Maine and forecasters say it could dump up to two feet of snow in some areas by the time it is done.
Winter storm warnings are in place along much of the eastern seaboard and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut have declared a state of emergency, as have the cities of Philadelphia and New York.
New York mayor Bill de Blasio has signed an order restricting non-essential travel until Tuesday.
Man killed at baby shower when celebratory cannon explodes
A 26-year-old man was killed on Saturday after being hit by shrapnel from a cannon explosion during a baby shower celebration in Genesee County in Michigan.
The device was fired in the backyard of the homeowner in Genesee County at around 7.30 pm to celebrate the pending arrival of the baby when the spraying metal shrapnel struck the man, reported ABC News.
The victim, Evan Thomas Silva, was at a distance of 10 to 15 feet from the device when it blew up. He was taken to Hurley Medical Center in Flint, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The shrapnel also struck three parked cars and the garage where the shower was being held.
«The homeowner had purchased the cannon at an auction prior to the event and had fired the cannon several times prior. The cannon is designed to create a big flash, a loud noise and smoke,» state police said in a statement, according to ABC News.
The police further said that the cannon did not contain any projectiles but they suspect that the gun powder was loaded into the device causing the cannon to fracture. The bomb squad and Gaines Township Fire Department responded to the scene.
However, no charges have been filed as yet, as the investigators are probing how the event turned deadly, reported the New York Times, which also quoted police as saying the event was not a gender reveal party.
This is not an isolated event where the use of explosive devices in the baby shower and gender reveal event took a dangerous turn.
And in October 2019, a homemade device that was supposed to reveal a baby’s gender by discharging coloured powder, exploded like a pipe bomb, killing a 56-year-old woman.
