PA Man Distraught By Coronavirus Shoots Woman, Kills Himself

A Pennsylvania man who recently lost his job and was becoming increasingly upset by the coronavirus crisis shot his girlfriend in the back as she fled -- then he killed himself, reports say.

At the seen in Wilson Borough, PA.
Photo Credit: *Google Maps*

Cecilia Levine

04/01/2020 10:53 a.m.

Roderick Bliss, 38, of Wilson Borough, shot the 43-year-old woman in the back around 1:20 p.m. Monday outside his apartment on N. 17th Street, LehighValley Live reports.

Authorities found a semiautomatic pistol nearby and the woman, who was conscious and alert, told officers Bliss shot her, the report says.

The unnamed woman was treated in the intensive care unit at St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill, and is expected to survive, according to Police Chief Chris Meehan said.

Bliss was becoming more and more upset by the coronavirus pandemic leading up to Monday's shooting.

He went into his basement and returned to the porch with the victim, and -- while holding the handgun -- told her: "I already talked to God and I have to do this," LehighValley Live says.

Bliss shot at the woman four times -- hitting her once -- as she ran off the porch. He then shot himself and his death was ruled a suicide.

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