Suspect charged in Chester linen shop rampage that left 2 brothers dead, 3 injured
CHESTER, Pa. - A 61-year-old disgruntled employee is facing murder charges after officials say he shot up Delaware County Linen on Wednesday around 8:30 a.m., killing two employees and injuring three others.
According to District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, Wilbert Rosado-Ruiz, 61, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, multiple counts of aggravated assault, and multiple counts of reckless endangerment. Stollsteimer said though Rosado-Ruiz legally possessed the weapon used in the shooting back in 2018, he did not have a license to conceal it, leading to an additional firearms charge.
Rosado-Ruiz had been an employee of the linen shop since 2016.
Stollsteimer held a press conference Thursday to discuss more details that led to the deaths of two employees, who were related.
Officials say the suspect walked into the Chester linen shop and was involved in a dispute with a female employee. He then exited the shop, made a phone call and went back inside with his gun and started shooting.
During the shooting, two brothers, Leovanny Pena, 29 and Giguenson Pena, 26, were killed.
"They are going to work on an average day at a job providing for their families and they don’t come home. We’re here to stand up for them." said Stollsteimer.
2 dead, 3 hurt after disgruntled former employee opens fire in Chester linen shop
A typical day at work took a devastating turn when officials say a disgruntled former employee took out his anger on his coworkers, leaving two of them dead.
The woman that Rosado-Ruiz was originally disputing with was shot and managed to leave the linen shop and ended up across the street at the end of the shooting. Officials say Rosado-Ruiz can be seen on surveillance video calmly walking out of the building when he saw the woman and ran after her in efforts to shoot her again.
The three injured victims, including the woman involved in the dispute, were transported to Crozer Medical Center.
Two victims have been listed as stable, while the last victim is still critical.
The long time Chester company, that provided linen services to restaurants, was back open Thursday morning where workers were seen folding.
Tameka Gibson, a city council member and outreach worker for an anti-violence group, was surprised.
"I think maybe some trauma therapy counseling should have been provided that’s why I’m here to provide the resource at least," said Gibson.
Ruiz was expected to be arraigned Thursday.
This investigation is ongoing.