Man wounds 10 Commits Suicide

Waterford, Mich., Oct 25, (AP) A crazed middle-aged farmer shot up two taverns last night, then killed himself after wounding ten persons. on a mad spree with a shotgun, Joe Runyon, 57, terrorized this sleepy little resort village in a begrudging farewell to the world. Two of his victims, both women, were critically wounded. Tramping back across a street, Runyon fired seven of eight charges from a 12-gauge shotgun thru windows of two taverns, witnesses said. At the end of a violent 10 or 12 minutes, he walked a short distance up the street and fired a final charge thru his own chest. This was the last in a series of rapid reloadings Runyon's gun was a single shot weapon. Reported in critical condition today at Pontiac General Hospital were Mrs Irene Zurawski, 37, and her mother-in-law, Mrs. Helen Psciuk. It was at the Zurawski family's small bar where Runyon made one attack. Six persons were wounded there and another four at the bar of the Waterford Hotel across the street before Runyon shambled away to kill himself. The shootings recalled the recent Camden N. J. mass killing of 13 persons by Howard Unruh, young forer service man who later was found insane. Runyon, a former aut factory worker in nearby Pontiac, lived alone on a farm he was said to have bought a year ago. Little is known of him, but evidently things had gone wrong recently and he had become despondent. At his tidy farm house was found a note saying: "Take over, Joe, Dad's quit work. (obscenity) 'em all." There was also a list of Runyon's possessions. Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor, George Taylor, said the note apparently was meant for Runyon's son, Joe Jr., a Pontiac resident. Runyon a stocky man of medium height was known as a quiet person. He had his daily beer in town and peddled his farm crops here. He began his rampage shortly before 8:30 p.m. Accounts of witnesses varied but it was established that he walked from one bar to the other, standing at the windows to fire blasts inside. Patrons screamed in fright. Some dropped to the floor. A television program was being broadcast. Mrs Zurawski was shot in the neck and face. Her mother-in-law was wounded in the face and chest. The latter's son, Stanley Zurawski, 29, was shot in the left arm. The Rev. Fr. Frederick A. Delaney, pasrot of Our Lady of The Lakes parish in Waterford, was driving past the hotel. He saw Runyon firing through the bar windows of the Waterford Hotel. Before the priest could intervene, Runyon had fired five shots through each of the five windows overlooking the bar. One blast struck the bartender and felled five others in the crowded barroom. The priest shouted at the man, "Hey, you stop that shooting!" With that, the man ran across the street and pumped two more shots into Stan's bar. Mrs. Etta Ficher, 60, daytime bartender at the hotel bar, said the farmer had been in the bar earlier in the evening and spoke in a despondent manner. She quoted him as saying: "Well three of my horses died again, and I lost $250." Mrs. Ficher said she stayed after her working hours to watch the bar's television and was seated at a table when Runyon returned after 8 p.m. with the shotgun. She escaped his blast by lying flat on the floor. Waterford village (pop 450) six miles northwest of Pontiac. It is a well known stopping place for motorists on U. S. Highway 10. Shortly before 8:30 p.m. an itinerant 57 year old farm hand appeared at Stan's tavern, in the heart of Waterford. He shot down five customers as he blasted through windows. While screams of the wounded woke the village, the man raced across the street to the Waterford Hotel. Mounting to the wide veranda, he ran to the windows of the hotel's bar. Shoving the barrel of his gun through the glass, he fired two shots in succession. The man then returned the gun on himself and fired into his abdomen.