David Green, 72, of Swiftwater, Pa., is led into the office of Magisterial District Judge Phillip Riley on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, in Mountainhome, Pa. (Butch Comegys/The Times-Tribune via AP)
An elderly Pennsylvania man who allegedly shot and killed an employee inside a township’s municipal building over what authorities believe were disputes over mold and sewage, says he doesn’t know why he did it, a report said Tuesday.
David Green, 72, of Swiftwater, left his arraignment at the Monroe County district court wrapped in a yellow slicker and was met by a crowd of reporters who shouted questions at him, the Morning Call of Allentown reported.
“Why did you do it, David?” reporters asked. “Was it because of mold and permits?”
Green answered: “I don’t know why I did it.”
“I don’t know why I did it.”
Authorities said they believe the crime was motivated by ongoing issues Green had with the township over mold, septic problems and permits, the paper reported.
Green had walked inside the Paradise Township municipal building about 8:20 a.m. and opened fire, according to police and township officials. State and local police rushed to the municipal building in the Pocono Mountains, about 100 miles north of Philadelphia, arresting the suspect without incident.
The victim was identified as longtime township employee Michael Tripus, 65, of Stroudsburg. The township's website listed him as the sewage enforcement and building code officer.
State police said Green and Tripus didn’t know one another, the Morning Call reported.
Green was held in the county jail without bail, the paper reported.
The township is in a rural area and has a population of about 3,200. It employs three full-time workers and one part-time worker in the office, and six on the road crew. The township building has no security camera, but there is a panic button that links to 911, according to Gary Konrath, chairman of the township's Board of Supervisors.
Paradise Township is about 20 miles north of Ross Township, where a gunman opened fire at a Board of Supervisors' meeting in 2013, killing three.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
