Cops surrounded a Pennsylvania house Monday where they believe the gunman who shot five people, including several New Yorkers, may be holed up, local media reported.
SWAT teams have massed outside the home in Marcus Hook, Pa. - just near the Delaware border - saying they believe "person of interest" is inside, reported Philadelphia's NBC affiliate.
A man who lives in the home and knows the suspect called WKYW-AM and said his pal had called late Sunday saying he needed a place to hid.
After the man came over and fell asleep the caller said he had snuck out of the house.
He told the station the suspect had said he knew one of the victims and that the shooting was the result of a robbery gone bad.
Cops surrounded the house early Monday, and the radio station reported that officers had fired tear gas into the home.
Word of a possible arrest came as officers said a Pratt Institute professor wounded in the bloodbath was in grave condition and may not survive.
"It doesn't look good," a detective told neighbors outside the family's country home in Bechtelsville where the shooting occurred. "She was shot right in the head and probably won't make it."
Monica Shay, 58, and her husband Paul Shay, 64, a plumber, and their nephew's girlfriend, Kathryn Erdmann, 37, are all in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the head.
Joseph Shay, 43, and Erdmann's 2-year-old son Gregory were killed in the shooting in rural Bechtelsville, about 100 miles from New York City.
Monica Shay's brother, Edward Newbold, of Seattle, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he had been told his sister had "no hope - zero, zero, zero" of surviving.
"She was beautiful, loved. She was a wonderful beautiful person. I miss her so much," he said.
Cops discovered the grisly scene after Erdmann managed to call 911 to report that she had been shot.
Shay was listed on Pratt's website as an associate professor teaching arts and culture management at the school's Manhattan campus.
Police have not identified a motive or suspects. The surviving victims have been unable to speak with investigators, officials said.
Neighbors in Manhattan said the couple had taken in their nephew, who had had trouble with the law and had fallen on hard times.
"Paul helped people out, gave people jobs who were on probation," said neighbor Dan Hoyt. "\[Joseph\] was a pretty happy go lucky guy. He was jokey and cheerful most of the time. He seemed like a pretty happy guy."
Police records show the younger Shay had a record dating back to the early 1990s and most recently served 10 months for grand larceny. He was released in June 2009 and remained on parole until June 2010.
The elder Shays had lived in the East Village on E. 10th St. for nearly two decades, and had long worked on fixing up their Pennsylvania weekend home.
"It's a shame. They were always nice," said Marianne Methias, 44, who lives up the road from the Pennsylvania house. "This shouldn't have happened. I hope they catch whoever did this."
In New York, neighbors said Monica Shay was active in community demonstrations and social advocacy issues.
"She was a very serious figure in the community," said neighbor Anton van Dalen. "She was really tied to the neighborhood on social issues. She was a real community-minded person, a very serious presence in the neighborhood."
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