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Chester County killings underscore need for domestic-violence reform, advocates say; one bill could pass next week

After the Bruce Rogal shootings, a look at the domestic violence bills Pennsylvania lawmakers introduced and have not passed and the ratio of shootings related to domestic issues such as divorce.

State Police investigate the scene on Vermont Lane in West Bradford Twp., where Bruce Rogal crashed his car into the home of his ex-wife.
State Police investigate the scene on Vermont Lane in West Bradford Twp., where Bruce Rogal crashed his car into the home of his ex-wife.Read moreBob Williams / For the Inquirer

It was another tragedy seemingly rooted in domestic turmoil: An elderly couple killed Wednesday night by their son after he attempted to murder his ex-wife, with the man enraged by his divorce from her, according to investigators.

In a story with grim echoes of many before it, a man shot at a woman who had once taken out a protection-from-abuse order against him, then went on to kill members of his family. Bruce Rogal, 59, ended his Wednesday rampage by crashing his car into his ex-wife's Downingtown home, which the couple had previously shared. He was killed while exchanging gunfire with police.

This summer saw domestic slayings that included the deaths of 7-year-old Kayden Mancuso, killed by her father in an apparent murder-suicide; a City Hall worker slain by her estranged husband, who also killed himself; and a toddler whose mother was accused this week of poisoning him with Vicodin.

Advocates say these and other domestic-violence incidents have brought the issue "front and center," and in Pennsylvania, several bills have been introduced aimed at protecting potential victims.

"This really does underline the need for legislative reform," said Julie Bancroft, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Advocates hope one bill that would tighten rules requiring convicted domestic abusers to relinquish their weapons might pass in the Pennsylvania House next week.

"People are just saying, 'Enough. Let's take a look at our laws,'" said Rep. Marguerite Quinn (R., Bucks), who introduced the bill and expects it to pass in a vote next week.

The proposal would require those convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor to turn over their weapons to law enforcement within 48 hours — instead of giving them 60 days and the option to surrender the weapons to family or friends. A companion bill passed unanimously in the Senate in March. Both versions also would also make it mandatory for people under final protection-from-abuse orders to give up their weapons, though the House bill covers only certain types of such orders whereas the Senate bill covers all, Bancroft said.

The Rogals' divorce proceedings had dragged on for three years, and his wife got a protection-from-abuse order against Rogal in June 2015 after an altercation in which they accused each other of physical abuse. The order did require him to relinquish weapons, but it was not clear whether he owned any at that time. It expired in 2017.

"Yesterday's incident was tragic," Quinn said of the double slaying. "It would not have been prevented by this [legislation], but it poignantly illustrates the danger of a firearm being in the hands of someone who has a propensity towards domestic violence."

Another Senate bill, aimed at helping domestic violence victims in public housing relocate, may get a vote next week, too. A bill known as Tierne's Law, which secures a judge's ability to use a risk assessment tool when setting bail, was passed earlier this year and signed by Gov. Wolf in April.

Statewide, 117 people were killed in domestic violence-related incidents last year. Two-thirds of such homicides in Pennsylvania were shootings, the highest number of domestic-violence deaths by firearm in the state in the last decade, according to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Domestic killings of the elderly are less common; in 2017, nine victims over 65 were killed in domestic incidents in Pennsylvania.

Nationwide, just more than half of all mass shootings between 2009 and 2016 involved victims who were either partners or close family members of the gunman.

In the Pulse nightclub, Las Vegas concert, and Sutherland Springs, Texas, shootings, each of the gunmen had been accused or convicted of domestic violence. The gunman in the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., was said to have stalked a girl and been violent at home.

"With the #MeToo movement and all of these recent mass shooting incidents like Parkland… those things have definitely raised awareness, but haven't necessarily translated to legislative action," Bancroft said. "I think we still have a long way to go in terms of … looking at the needs of victims in a way that is not partisan and in a way that is not crowded by gender bias."

Rogal's rampage recalled the 2014 Montgomery County shooting spree by Bradley Stone, who killed his ex-wife and five members of her family as he moved from house to house on a December night.

"If there's a violent crime in suburban Philadelphia… more often than not, it's domestic violence, and it's the number-one thing that communities like ours look out for," said Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell, who has worked in domestic-violence issues with initiatives including a law that required police officers to be trained on the domestic-violence center resources available to victims. "It's the most serious crime that happens in communities like ours."

Staff writers Vinny Vella and Katie Park contributed to this article.