66-Year-Old Man Charged In Senior Center Double Murder
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Prosecutors have charged a 66-year-old man with fatally shooting two women who he blamed for a breakup with his girlfriend.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement that Mike Reda was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder and other felonies. He's being arraigned Wednesday morning in Detroit District Court.
Reda was arrested shortly after the Sunday slayings of 59-year-old Deborah Socia and 61-year-old Maria Gonzalez at the Pablo Davis Elder Living Center on the city's southwest side. He also lives in the building, at 9200 West Vernor — which has about 80 apartment units.
Police said Reda, armed with a long gun, first shot Socia as she sat on a bench outside the apartment building. He then went inside and shot Gonzalez. Both had multiple gunshot wounds, according to Worthy.
The victims were friends of a woman who'd broken off a relationship with Reda, and he believed they were responsible for the falling out, according to investigators.
Police said Reda also held a man at gunpoint, but he was able to escape.
"He came outside with an assault rifle, told me to get on my hands and knees and pray, and I did get on my hands and knees and pray," one witness told a WDIV reporter at the scene. "Then he told me to get up, and when I got up he swung the assault rifle towards my friend and shot her,"
Reda had been drinking before the shooting, a witness said.
The complex was evacuated and searched. Reda reportedly barricaded himself in his room, but later surrendered after police surrounded the building.
"Some of our elder citizens live in adult facilities so that they can live their lives in convenience and peace — certainly not to die in a blaze of bullets," Worthy said. "The alleged actions of the defendant in this case not only took the lives of the victims, but has forever changed the lives of everyone in the facility."
As of Tuesday, there was no attorney listed for Reda.
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