Police release details of deadly Scranton shooting
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — We now know more about what police say led to a man killing his brother in South Scranton.
24-year-old Carlos Rivera is being charged with first-degree and four counts of third-degree murder after the shooting death of his brother, 35-year-old Walter Reyes.
According to police, the brothers were drinking with two women in the brothers’ shared apartment on Pittston Avenue when they started arguing around 2:00 a.m. Monday.
Investigators said the argument escalated over Reyes wanting to take one of the women on a date despite owing Rivera money for rent. The two continued arguing, with one of the women telling police it almost turned into a physical fight.
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Court documents state the girls tried to defuse the situation, but Reyes told them, “It’s all good, he’s my brother. It’s all love.”
When the brothers stopped arguing, officers said Reyes called his mother and said she needed to come get Rivera’s infant daughter from the home because Rivera was very drunk and dangerous. Around 3:00 a.m., the mother called 911 from the apartment next door to request a welfare check for Rivera’s daughter.
As police were on their way to the home, officers said Rivera went into his room and came back to where the group was hanging out with a blank stare on his face. That’s when Rivera walked behind his brother at the kitchen table and shot him 10 times in the back.
After the shooting, officials said Rivera’s mother called 911 to report shots fired and Rivera told the women to leave his apartment.
When police arrived at the apartment, they said they encountered Rivera, Rivera’s 15-year-old brother, and Rivera’s mother holding Rivera’s infant daughter in front of the apartment. As police approached, they saw Rivera yelling at his mother.
Investigators said they spoke to Rivera who claimed his brother shot himself.
First responders said they entered the home and found Reyes face down in the kitchen with a gun near his hand and gunshot wounds to the back.
Reyes was transported to the hospital where he later died. Police spoke to his mother at the hospital who said Reyes didn’t own a gun but Rivera did and was very “into” it. She then told the police, “Carlos killed him. He killed his brother; now, Carlos is going to have to pay for what he has done,” according to the police affidavit.
An autopsy was conducted and the Lackawanna County Coroner determined Reyes’s death was caused by two gunshot wounds to the back of his head and eight gunshot wounds to his back. Reyes’s death has been ruled a homicide.
In addition to the two murder charges, Rivera is being charged with four counts of recklessly endangering other people.
Court documents show Rivera is being held in the Lackawanna County prison and has been denied bail.
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