Three people are dead after an argument over snow shoveling leads to murder-suicide

Three people, including the shooter, are dead after a dispute over snow shoveling in Plains, Pennsylvania, outside Wilkes-Barre on Monday, Plains Township Police Chief Dale Binker told CNN on Tuesday.

At around 9 a.m. Monday, the shooter, Jeffrey Spaide, got into an argument with James and Lisa Goy, who lived across the street, while shoveling snow from his driveway, a release from the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office said.

The Goys were shoveling snow from their parking spots across the street onto Spaide’s property, the release said. Spaide asked them to stop and the argument escalated quickly.

As they argued, the release says Spaide went into his house, retrieved a handgun, and came back outside firing multiple shots “at close range” at the Goys. He then went back into his house, pulled out an AR-style rifle, and fired at the injured Goys, “executing them,” Binker said.

Binker told CNN this was not the first disagreement between Spaide and the Goys over snow this year. Two months ago, another snowstorm also led to an altercation between them, he said, though police were not notified of that dispute and said Spaide was not known to police for any other matter.

Police arrived soon after the Goys were shot, and as they approached, heard a single gunshot coming from Spaide’s house, which they believe was the self-inflicted shot that killed him, Binker said. Both James and Lisa Goy were pronounced dead at the scene, he said.

The Goys left behind a 15-year-old son with autism, whose grandparents will assume custody, Binker said, adding that they worked through the night on the case and consider the investigation closed.