BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two women were shot and killed in their home on Layer Avenue early Thursday morning in a domestic violence incident which led to a standoff with Buffalo police with the shooting suspect.
They say he later took his own life before a SWAT team could get into his 10th Street apartment.
Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo says the incident began Thursday morning when neighbors heard shots fired on Layer Avenue in Buffalo's Riverside neighborhood. Responding police say they found two women who lived there, 27-year-old Megan Wisniewski and 63-year-old Margie Ramos, dead in the home, as well as a 6-year-old child who was not harmed.
Captain Rinaldo says the male suspect, 36-year-old Rafael Perez, who was the boyfriend of the younger woman, was seen fleeing the scene in his speeding car and was traced to the 10th Street address.
That is when SWAT officers attempted to make contact with the suspect. Rinaldo says tear gas was fired into the upper floor apartment and officers using a search warrant entered the unit to find the suspect dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound.
No identities or ages of the victims have been released as yet.
Captain Rinaldo says the 6-year-old child was taken to Oishei Children's Hospital but did not appear to have any injuries.
Captain Rinaldo says the pandemic may be in part responsible for the increase in domestic violence cases because of the isolation and difficulty in reaching out to community resource organizations.
He stressed that agencies like Crisis Services and the Family Justice Center are available to assist those who are in such domestic violence situations. Crisis Services number 716-834-3131.