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Man Upset About His Divorce Gunned Down Parents At Their Retirement Home, Police Say
Bruce Rogal died after leading police on a chase to his ex-wife's house. His divorce being finalized apparently "set him off," authorities say.
A Pennsylvania man, who police say shot and killed his elderly parents at a retirement home Wednesday, is dead. The man also allegedly took shots at his ex-wife earlier in the day.
Authorities say Bruce Rogel, 59, drove to a retirement community in East Goshen Township on Wednesday evening and shot his two elderly parents, William and Nancy, in their apartment, according to Pennsylvania news station WPVI.
After the shootings, a manhunt began as law enforcement attempted to locate Rogel. He was spotted by Pennsylvania State Troopers at around 1 a.m. Thursday morning driving his vehicle.
Rogel then led police officers on a chase to the home of his ex-wife before he crashed the vehicle into the side of the house, the station reports.
"After he crashed into the house, a gunfire exchange happened with the pursuing troopers that were already on scene following him," Trooper James Spencer later told the media.
Rogel died during the exchange, although it's clear yet whether he fired any shots or how he died, according to WPVI.
"Bruce Rogal is dead. There is no ongoing threat in Chester County," Thomas Hogan, the Chester County District Attorney, later said on his Facebook page. "All law enforcement personnel involved are unhurt."
The violence began after Rogel's divorce from his ex-wife became final earlier in the day and his ex-wife was awarded their home as part of the agreement. Hogan said the divorce "appears to be what set him off today," during a press conference Wednesday, according to NBC 10 Philadelphia.
After receiving the news, Rogel allegedly drove to the home of his ex-wife at around 5:45 p.m. and fired six shots at her while she was in the driveway of the home, WPVI reported. The shots missed and she wasn't physically hurt during the altercation, according to the station.
Authorities say Rogal then drove to the retirement home where his parents, who were both in their late 80s, lived and shot them.
[Photo: Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan]
