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NEW YORK (AP) — An 86-year-old man shot his grandson in the head, killed the grandson's girlfriend and then took his own life because he believed the couple was taking advantage of his ailing daughter and living in her home, the grandson said in an interview published Sunday.
Michael Feliciano told the Daily News (http://nydn.us/1jmQRvi ) from his hospital bed that his girlfriend, Claritle Huerta, called him on his way home Friday evening to tell him that his grandfather was there and wanted to talk to him. He got to the house minutes later.
"I opened the door," he told the newspaper, "and that was it."
Police said the grandfather, Heriberto Pagan, shot Feliciano, killed Huerta inside the house with a gunshot to the head, got in his car, drove a few blocks and turned the gun on himself. He was found lying outside his car with a bullet wound in his head.
Feliciano, Huerta and their 4-month-old son were living in a Staten Island home owned by Feliciano's ailing mother, who has moved elsewhere. Pagan felt the couple was taking advantage of her and encouraged his daughter to evict them, his grandson said.
The older man didn't accept his grandson's assurances that he had put drug problems behind him, Feliciano said.
"He wouldn't let go of the past," said Feliciano, 47, who met the 28-year-old Huerta in a rehabilitation program three years ago. "He's not one to forget."
Neighbors said grandson and grandfather clashed frequently.
"It was just yelling and shouting whenever they got together," John Reina said.
The couple's son was found unharmed inside the house after the shooting. The infant is now in city Administration for Children's Services custody.
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Information from: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com
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