Phoenix man kills family, dogs in apartment next door
Oct 26, 2013, 3:48 PM | Updated: Oct 27, 2013, 3:45 pm
PHOENIX — Police say three generations of the Moore family were shot and killed by their next door neighbor, who later killed himself.
It happened Saturday morning at a Phoenix townhouse complex near 17th Avenue and Camelback Road. Phoenix police first responded to calls about a man firing shots in the complex. When they arrived and started searching the area, they discovered four adults and two dogs shot inside one townhome.
Sgt. Tommy Thompson said 56-year-old Michael Dante Guzzo first shot 66-year-old Bruce Moore and his son-in-law, 42-year-old Michael Moore, on their back patio before moving inside their home and shooting 36-year-old Renee Moore and her 17-year-old son, Shannon. Using a pump shotgun, Guzzo also shot and killed two dogs that belonged to the Moore family.
“While there is some speculation from perhaps neighbors that maybe Guzzo had an issue with barking dogs, we just don’t know,” Thompson said Sunday. “There are questions we may never be able to find answers for because the victims and suspect are dead in this case. It is a senseless tragedy, a senseless act of violence.”
Thompson said police have no record of Guzzo having a violent history, but their investigation continues.
According to police, after shooting the Moore family, Guzzo walked across the courtyard and shot through the front door and window of another townhouse. A neighbor yelled at him, and police said Guzzo shot at the neighbor before fleeing back to his home and shooting and killing himself.
“Our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers go out to the family and friends of the Moores,” Thompson said. “And when I say that it’s not just the police department, it’s everybody in the community because something like this touches the entire community.”