Poway Easter shooting stuns community

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Poway residents were shocked once again on Easter Sunday when a shooting left a couple and gunman dead. These events, along with the recent death of local high school teen Chelsea King, have left the neighborhood stunned in the normally safe suburban community.

The deaths of Mitch Cunnyngham, 58, and his wife Diana Cunnyngham, 56 are reported to be motivated by a ongoing 10-year feud over cars being parked in front of a neighboring house. Their neighbor, Robert Reed, opened fire through a sliding glass door in the Cunnyngham home, and then proceeded to “[walk] around the outside of the house as he pumped bullets,” said sheriff Lt. Dennis Brugos. The couple’s son as well as his wife and daughter remained inside the home and were not harmed.

David Cunnyngham, son of the late couple, reported seeing the neighbor approach the house with a shotgun and revolver. He then ran inside to inform his father, who ran to get his gun, but did not have a chance to use it before Reed opened fire.

Robert Reed, suspect of the shooting, was later slain by deputies when he refused to drop a pointed shotgun. Further investigation revealed that he was arrested two years ago in another dispute with the Cunnynghams, involving Reed stabbing son David Cunnyngham in the leg. The charges were later dropped.

“The shooter didn’t get along well with other neighbors as well. He didn’t want people parking in front of his house,” said Brugos.

There has not been a homicide in Poway for more than two years, and no record of three occurring at once.