Resident at elderly apartment complex in Rhode Island shot three people before killing himself, police say

A 66-year-old man living at an apartment complex in Westerly, Rhode Island shot two employees — one fatally — and another resident before apparently killing himself, Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey said.

Police received calls just after 10:30 a.m. Thursday about a shooting at Babcock Village apartments, a three-story affordable housing complex for elderly and disabled people in the beachside town, Lacey said.

At the complex, they found two facility employees and a resident, all women, who had been shot in a front-office area.

After securing the building and reviewing surveillance video, local and state police determined the suspect was a resident, Lacey said.

A tactical robot entered the suspect’s apartment and found him dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Rhode Island State Police Superintendent Col. James M. Manni said.

Police identified the deceased victim on Friday as 47-year-old manager Julie Cardinal.

Another employee, Robin Moss, 38, was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital in critical condition, police said Friday, and 66-year-old Babcock Village resident Donna Thornley was in stable condition at a local hospital.

Lacey said Thursday that police were familiar with the suspect, though he did not go into further detail.

“We have just dealt with him in the past,” he said.

Westerly Public Schools temporarily put its schools on lockdown, which has since been lifted.

Westerly, in southwestern Rhode Island, has a population of about 23,000.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the age of a shooting victim. That victim is 66.