Two Die in Rural Shooting, Suspect Killed by Philly Police
A man who apparently shot five people during a botched robbery in rural Douglass Township, Penn., was killed at a friend's house in Philadelphia following an extended manhunt.
According to authorities, Mark Geisenheyner, 51, had planned on robbing the weekend home of Paul and Monica Shay, whose nephew, Joseph, he knew. On Saturday night, he entered the home and shot the Shays, as well as two-year-old Gregory Erdmann and his mother, Joseph's girlfriend Kathryn Erdmann. Gregory and Joseph both died soon afterward; the other three are in critical condition.
Geisenheyner seems to have called a friend who lived in Philadelphia, saying he needed a place to stay; when he fell asleep, the friend left the house and alerted authorities, who quickly arrived and began to negotiate with their suspect. Initial reports held that Geisenheyner had committed suicide, but the Delaware and Montgomery County District Attorneys say that he was shot by police.
Paul Shay owned a plumbing business; Monica was a professor of art at the Pratt Insitute in New York. They had taken in their nephew, who had been in jail several times, and provided him with a job. "Paul helped people out, gave people jobs who were on probation," neighbor Dan Hoyt told the Daily News. "[Joseph] was a pretty happy go lucky guy. He was jokey and cheerful most of the time. He seemed like a pretty happy guy."
