An American man who became upset over losing his job due to the coronavirus pandemic, shot his girlfriend and then killed himself in an attempted murder-suicide.
Authorities said they were called to the home in Wilson Borough, about 70 miles northeast of Philadelphia, around 1:20 p.m. on Monday for reports of multiple shots fired.
When the officers arrived at the scene, they found Roderick Bliss IV, 38, unresponsive and not breathing with “obvious gunshot injuries,” police said. A semi-automatic pistol was discovered close to his lifeless body.
A coroner ruled his death a suicide.
Before he killed himself, he shot his girlfriend, 43, who police said they found suffering from a gunshot wound to the back and was taken to the hospital to undergo surgery.
The girlfriend survived the attack and is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. She is currently recovering in the intensive care unit, the Wilson Borough Police Department said in a press release.
The woman and other witnesses told police that Bliss had “become increasingly upset over the COVID-19 pandemic” and was very upset over recently losing his job, the press release states.
“He went into the basement and came outside on to the rear porch with the victim. While holding the handgun, Bliss told the victim, ‘I already talked to god and I have to do this’. The victim ran off of the porch and he shot at her four times striking her once,” police said. “Bliss then shot himself.”
