Man shoots, critically wounds neighbor; shoots and kills himself

A simmering argument over whether a woman was wiretapping the telephone lines of an upstairs apartment neighbor in West Philadelphia erupted in gunfire Sunday morning, leaving the woman critcally wounded and the man dead.

Police said the woman, 46, who lived on the third floor, was confronted in a first-floor hallway by a male in his 40s who shot at her 10 times, striking her with eight bullets.

Medics rushed her to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

Lt. John Walker of Southwest detectives said the woman was listed in critical condition Sunday night.

The shooting happened in an apartment building on the 4500 block of Spruce Street shortly before 11 a.m.

Walker said the man then returned to his second-floor apartment and shot himself in the head. He was pronounced dead at Presbyterian shortly after noon.

"It's a terrible situation," Walker said. The man and woman had lived in the building in separate apartments for about two years and there was a history of tension between them, he said.

"Instead of handling it like an adult, he takes it into his own hands." Walker said.

Inquirer reporter Mike Newall contributed to this article.