Shelter director, board member shocked by Snydertown murders
Jun. 12—SUNBURY — The director of Haven Ministry Center in Sunbury said she and everyone else at the emergency shelter for the homeless were shocked by the allegations that former resident Matthew J. Reed killed three people in Snydertown this week.
Reed lived at the shelter for the past month and no one there knew him very well, Christy Zeigler said. Though she said that the shelter screens residents for criminal backgrounds through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System, Reed's past conviction for aggravated assault was out-of-state and wouldn't show in the Commonwealth's search engine.
"I as well as the others at Haven are shocked that something so horrific could happen. I would like to keep a positive image of Haven in the community as we are a small, struggling nonprofit," Zeigler said. "Just please keep the victims, their families, Matthew and the good people at Haven in your prayers."
According to state police, Reed confessed to fatally shooting Susan Williams, 58, James Dicken, 59, and an unidentified 17-year-old male at 3425 Snydertown Road on Wednesday. Reed was apprehended hours later outside the Sunbury shelter 8 miles away. He faces prosecution on three counts of homicide and related charges filed by Trooper Josiah Reiner, state police at Stonington.
The shooting occurred as Reed and the victims were in a dispute over his attempted purchase of a used car from them, police said.
No S. Ringer, a board member with Haven Ministry, said she was saddened to learn about the murders and the connection to the shelter.
"Haven Ministry is about helping people," Ringer said. "We are there to help people in times of need, and through all of this right now we need prayer."
Ringer said she has spoken to staff at the homeless shelter and offered support and comfort to them.
"I can't say this enough that we need prayer," Ringer said. "The victims in this, their families, our staff, all of us need prayer and we need to lean on that prayer for God to heal in times like these."
Several residents of Haven Ministry gathered outside the South Front Street shelter Thursday and spoke among themselves. They all declined comment on the incident and whether they knew Reed.
Holly Diehl, of Snyder County, was at the nearby Keithan's Bluebird Gardens. She said she followed along with developing news since Wednesday night.
"The homeless shelter is a positive for us in this area," Diehl said. "It's so sad this happened and this is something that will take the shelter a long time for its staff to recover from, I am sure. It will take everyone in our area time to recover. It's just all heartbreaking."
Pastor Mark Gittens, of h2church in Sunbury, said the shooting showed that "anything can happen anywhere."
Gittens said he receives calls from people on a regular basis when the shelter is full in hopes he could help.
"We do all we can to help those in need," Gittens said, "and I'll say it again, anything can happen at any time."
