According to police, an employee at a Lowe’s near Scranton, Pennsylvania, approached a coworker on a forklift and shot him to death.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by local ABC affiliate WNEP and the Scranton Times-Tribune, 36-year-old Christopher Wasnetsky wrote an email to human resources before the shooting, saying he would not have killed fellow employee Jeffrey Moeller if they had addressed his previous complaints against him.
Wasnetsky is accused of first and third-degree murder in Moeller’s death.
Scranton police responded to the Lowe’s on Viewmont Drive around 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Officers discovered the 44-year-old Moeller lying in a pool of blood. He had been shot twice in the head and once in the back, according to the complaint. Paramedics rushed Moeller to the hospital, where he died.
Cops apparently did not have to wait long for a confession. After shooting Moeller, Wasnetsky is said to have dialled 911.
“I’d like to report a shooting at Dickson City Lowe’s,” he reportedly told the dispatcher. “I was the person that did it.”
When the dispatcher asked why he pulled the trigger, Wasnetsky allegedly said it was due to “months of harassment and other things.” The store manager later told detectives that they investigated Wasnetsky’s complaints but discovered no evidence to back them up, according to the complaint.
When questioned by detectives, Wasnetsky reiterated his beef with Moeller.
“He said the victim, Jeff, had been harassing him for a long time, and no one would do anything about it,” police reportedly stated in the affidavit.
He allegedly claimed he brought a handgun to work and intended to shoot Moller before turning the weapon on himself. Wasnetsky reportedly told police that he had practiced shooting the gun in his backyard.
Detectives examined surveillance footage from the store, which captured the shooting. Moeller was on the forklift when Wasnetsky allegedly approached him while pushing a shopping cart. Cops say he pulled a gun from the cart and shot Moeller from about 5 feet away. Moeller fell to the ground and attempted to crawl to safety, but Wasnetsky stood over him and fired additional shots, according to the complaint.
On a GoFundMe page, the victim’s sister disputed the claim that her husband was harassing Wasnetsky. Moeller had expressed “ongoing concerns” about Wasnetsky to HR “multiple times.”
“On June 14th, my brother Jeffrey’s life was senselessly and violently taken from him,” wrote Christina Moeller. “While working the job he was so proud of at Lowe’s in Pennsylvania, he was shot and killed by a coworker, whom he had reported to Human Resources several times due to ongoing concerns. To our knowledge, the individual had been making troubling remarks toward Jeffrey. Despite Jeffrey’s numerous reports, nothing was done.
Lowe’s spokesperson told local media that the company is working closely with law enforcement.
“The safety of our associates and customers is our top priority, and we are deeply saddened by this senseless act of violence,” according to a statement.
Moeller had been a stay-at-home dad to his three daughters, whom he shared with his wife. When the girls were old enough to go to school, he worked overnight shifts at Lowe’s so he could spend the day with them, according to his sister.
“That’s just the kind of man he was — loyal, dedicated, and full of love for his family,” she told me. “If you knew Jeffrey, you’d know he had the softest heart and the loudest laugh. He and Keisha had recently reconnected with their faith, and he planned to be baptized on Father’s Day alongside his daughters. He was so proud to be their father, and everything he did was for his family.”
Wasnetsky is still in the Lackawanna County Prison without bond. His next court date is set for June 30.
