Nursing home resident, 70, angry that his repair requests were not met, opens fire on staff

A man opened fire in a residential care center Ohio identified last week as a 70-year-old resident who was reportedly angry because his requests for repairs were not being met.

Roger Murray, 70, shot and injured two employees before killing himself, New London police said in a statement press release on their Facebook page.

“Murray, a resident of the complex, had submitted multiple repair requests for his apartment and felt his requests were not adequately met,” police said of the preliminary motive for the shooting. “He was further distraught over the matter due to an ongoing on-site inspection.”

The shooting happened just after 10:50 a.m. at the Windy Acres retirement home on Friday, November 8. Police arrived and found the two injured employees locked in the main office.

Windy Acres office manager Lora Gahagan, 52, of New London, was shot in the torso, while Windy Acres maintenance worker Kenneth Hawk, 56, of Lorain County, suffered head injuries, police said in the news release.

The employees were treated at hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and have since been released.

“We are pleased to say that both victims have now been released from hospital and are resting at home,” police said. “We want to commend them for their actions during that stressful situation.”

London’s new police chief, Joe Hicks, said the shooting was an isolated incident and there was no threat to the community.

“What I want the community to know is that everyone in our community is safe,” he said. “This incident has no impact on our safety in New London.”

If you live in the US and you or someone you know needs mental health care right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis line that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go there www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.