3 shot dead at Pennsylvania municipal building

SAYLORSBURG, Pa. (WABC) -- There was chaos and bloodshed when a gunman opened fire at a public hearing.

At least three people are dead and several others are in critical condition.

The gunman fired the shots randomly at a municipal building in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania in the Poconos Monday night.

It's an iconic and beautiful place, Saylorsburg in Ross Township.

There was a municipal township meeting Monday night at 7 p.m. It was the kind of meeting where they would normally discuss stop sign distribution and schedules for trash pickup, but during this meeting a gunman walked into the building.

He didn't go immediately into the room where the meeting was going on, according to witnesses, he fired several shots through the wall of that room and he hit several people inside.

According to witnesses, the gunman went to his car to reload and when he returned, he was tackled by a guard named Bernie Kozen.

The gunman was shot during that scuffle.

"The gunman came into that building and started shooting randomly at the people that were in that room. The shooter was, is captured, and the state police have him. And currently, the shooter is with the state police at the local hospital which is also on lockdown at this time. It is rather disturbing for us, you see it all over and here it is in your hometown," said Guy Miller, Emergency Management Director.

The shooter was later identified as 59-year-old Rockney Warren Newell. Police say he had an ongoing dispute with the county over some kind of sewer issue.

Ross Township has about 5,500 residents. According to its website, the board of supervisors meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of each month.

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