A Ridley Township man was killed and his stepdaughter critically injured after an elderly neighbor opened fire on them yesterday in the culmination of a months-long feud over backyard construction.
Police arrived to a home on the 900 block of Sylvania Avenue around 6 a.m. to find Scott Robins, 42, lying in his front yard with multiple gunshot wounds. His stepdaughter, 23-year-old Kristen Snow, was shot in the abdomen, said Lt. Scott Willoughby of the Ridley Township Police.
Robins told police before he died that neighbor James DellaVecchia, 72, waited outside Robins’ home and shot him as he left for work. Snow ran outside when she heard the gunshots and was subsequently hit.
Robins’ co-worker, Richard Wallace, crawled under his van to avoid the hail of bullets. He told police that, as he ran from the scene, DellaVecchia continued to shoot at him.
DellaVecchia was arrested, but taken to Crozer after police say he intentionally slammed his head against the cell door while in custody. He is charged with first degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
DellaVecchia and Robins had been feuding through the summer about construction in Robins’ backyard, which butts up against DellaVecchia’s property, Willoughby said.
