Sources: Woman Killed In Domestic-Related Shooting In Monongahela
MONONGAHELA, Pa. (KDKA) - A family is in shock after learning their loved one was gunned down at her home.
The man accused of pulling the trigger is her husband. Dennis Vaccaro, 64, is behind bars at the Washington County Jail. He is facing multiple charges, including criminal homicide.
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When he was walking into the courthouse for his arraignment, he told KDKA-TV that he shot his wife, 47-year-old Mecca Vaccaro, in self-defense. The shooting happened at their home on Park Avenue in Monongahela around 8 a.m. on Wednesday.
A neighbor who lives across the street said she heard the gunshots.
"It sounded like a huge tin bomb hitting the ground and woke me up," Bernadette Mele said.
A witness told investigators that he saw Mecca hit Dennis several times before pulling his hoodie over his head and spinning him around. The couple went inside the house, and that's when the witness told police he heard them arguing, then heard two pops.
When he came around the corner of the house, he told police that he saw Dennis pointing a 9-millimeter handgun toward the ground and Mecca lying on the ground nearby. Dennis admitted that he shot his wife and placed the gun in his truck afterward. Police said Mecca was shot in the stomach. She was in the driveway when detectives arrived.
She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
"I never knew him to be violent. He worked and took care of his family the best way he could," said Mecca's brother Brian Cook.
Cook told KDKA that Dennis was a quiet guy who helped raise his sister's son, who's now a teenager. Cook said his nephew was on the way to school when the shooting happened.
"He wasn't really his father, but he was his father because he was in his life since he was a baby," said Cook. "You never judge a book by its cover. That's what my mom always told me."
Neighbors also told KDKA that they knew Dennis to be a quiet, laid-back man who didn't come off as aggressive.
Monongahela police are handling the case. As for what's next Dennis, the district attorney said his preliminary hearing will be scheduled in a few days.