Man dead after North Wales murder-suicide attempt

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Monday, June 2, 2014
VIDEO: North Wales shooting prompts evacuations
A man is dead and a woman is in the hospital after an attempted murder-suicide.

NORTH WALES, Pa. (WPVI) -- A man is dead and a woman is in the hospital after an attempted murder-suicide in North Wales, Montgomery County that led to a SWAT team response and a neighborhood evacuation.

Officers were called to a home on the 2200 block of Harvard Court just before 10:00 a.m. Monday for the reports of shots fired.

"My girlfriend lives here. I came by to take the dog out and right before I took the dog out I heard two pops," said witness Chris Speiss.

Neighbors quickly called 911 after seeing the woman who lives in the home outside, staggering around, and bleeding.

"That's when the cops came and they just scooped her up, cordoned off the houses, and barricaded the street. They had their guns drawn, just like in the movies," neighbor John Matthews said.

It was quickly determined that the man who allegedly shot the victim was still inside and that's when SWAT teams swarmed and surrounded the property.

Investigators entered the home short time later to find a man dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Neighbors describe the victim as a sweet woman who lives in the home with two male relatives and her 6-year-old daughter, who was not home at the time of the shooting.

The identities of those involved were not immediately released.

Neighbors were let back inside their homes shortly before 1:30 p.m.

Kathy Bean, who lives nearby, says the whole thing is horrifying and heartbreaking.

"This is Gwynedd Pointe. We're a very close-knit neighborhood. Most of us know each other's neighbors. So for this to happen is very disturbing," Bean said.

The location was about one mile from the Montgomery Mall.