‘We are Not Afraid to Live and Work in This Community,’ Emmaus Official Says

Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe says that sadly, deadly shootings like Monday's rampage at a Monroe County municipal meeting are happening more and more frequently, and it would be silly to think Emmaus is immune from such horrors.

In fact, he says, the borough is designing changes at its offices that would improve security.

Pepe probably isn’t the only person thinking "what ifs" following the shootings at a Ross Township supervisors meeting that killed three people.

The victims, according to the Pocono Record, were Dave Fleetwood, a supervisor from neighboring Chestnuthill Township, and two residents.

“The shooting is truly a tragic situation,” Pepe says. “It was the first topic of conversation that employees wanted to discuss this morning when we came into the office. 

“Although it was an isolated incident, unfortunately shootings like this seem to be occurring more and more often. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this heinous act and to the entire community of Ross Township.”

Pepe says the vulnerability of Emmaus employees and officials to such violent acts is a topic that has been talked about “constantly” for several years in the borough.

“The borough is actually in the design process of changing a number of offices in Town Hall, including improving security measures for employees,” Pepe says. “We have been working on this project for approximately one year and are nearly completed with the design phase. 

“Additionally, the Emmaus Police Department has been actively involved with continuous training to be able to combat a situation such as this if it occurs. [Emmaus Police] Chief [David] Faust has been working with his leadership team to try to coordinate an ‘active shooter’ training program with the school district as well,” he says. 

In Ross Township, self-described junk collector Rockne Newell, 59, has been fighting with township officials for years over his neglected property, where human feces were found in buckets in 2009, according to a Pocono Record report.

The gunman began shooting into the meeting room at 7:15 p.m. while 15-18 people were inside, WFMZ reports.

Pocono Record reporter Chris Reber described hearing 10 shots and seeing plaster fly off the walls.

When asked if Emmaus will “beef up” security at its municipal meetings as a result of the Ross Township shooting, Pepe said that it's something that will likely be discussed with Borough Council in the near future, but that it is important not to overreact.

“While I certainly am not discounting the seriousness of this tragedy and some of the risks involved in being a government employee or official,” he said, “there is just as much chance of something like this occurring out on the street as there is in a municipal meeting.”