Elderly Senior Community Resident Shot Two Employees Dead Over Grudge

A resident of an elderly senior community in Maryland has been charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed two employees at the facility over a prior grudge on Friday, Oct. 8.

Roy Batson, 63, a resident at the Gateway Village senior living community in Capitol Heights, has been accused of fatally shooting 46-year-old Mackeda Evans of Temple Hills and 46-year-old Michelle Boateng of Capitol Heights at the facility just outside of Washington on Friday, Oct. 8, Daily News reported.

Police officers rushed to the Gateway Village at around 9:10 a.m on Friday after they were alerted of a disturbance at the facility. When the law enforcement arrived at the senior community, they found a young man running out from the backdoor of the building. The young man told officers that there was an active shooter inside the building.

The authorities entered the building and found the first female victim lying unresponsive in a corridor. As they continued ahead, they found the second female victim and began the evacuation process, sounded the alarms, and alerted Prince George's County Police for backup, KSLA reported.

According to a preliminary investigation by the police, Batson reportedly confronted Evans regarding a previous grudge between the two over a violation notice. The details of the violation have not been revealed.

When officers interrogated Batson, he admitted going to his apartment, retrieving a gun, coming back to the first-floor office area, and shooting down both the victims, WJLA reported.

“We are absolutely devastated about the loss of life again today and as we think about it the depravity that we’re seeing, just not only here in Prince George, but we’re just seeing in general, is inexplicable,” Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George’s County Executive said.

She stated that the shooting is “yet another case of inexplicable grief.”

Meanwhile, Batson has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bond.

Gateway Village is reportedly one of 310 communities in 25 states run by National Church Residences. The National Church Residences describes itself as “the nation’s largest provider of affordable senior housing and services.”