During the discussion, a man entered his home and got a gun, police said.
Authorities said a fight that erupted over snow shovels caused a Pennsylvania man to shoot two of his neighbors.
The deadly gun violence occurred in the town of Plains, about 15 miles southwest of Scranton, after 2 feet of snow covered the area, officials said.
Just before 9 a.m. Monday, Plains Township police officers responded to a report of gunfire in a residential neighborhood and discovered James Goy, 50, and his wife, Lisa Goy, 48. , killed on the street in front of his home, according to a joint statement from Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and Plains Township Police Chief Dale Binker.
Residents in the area directed police officers to a house on the street of the Goys’ house, but as they approached the front door, he fired a shot, officials said. Inside the house, police found 47-year-old James Spaide dead after an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
Neighbors told investigators that Spaide and the Goys had been involved in a long-running dispute that reached a boiling point on the snowiest day of the year.
“The Goys removed the snow from their parking lots, removed the snow across the road and dumped the snow on Spaide’s property,” Salavantis and Binker said in their statement.
Witnesses told investigators that Spaide asked the couple to stop, prompting an intense exchange of words. According to the statement, James Goy threw a tool at Spaide that he had been using to clear the snow from his car. When James Goy approached Spaide with his fist raised, Spaide retreated to his home and looked for a gun, officials said.
“The Goys proceeded to call him and, using explosives, the parties were called,” Salavantis and Binker said in their statement, adding that the episode was captured in a surveillance video. “Then Mr. Goy threatened Spaide and he is seen making obscene gestures. Seconds later, Spaide returns with a gun.”
Officials said that despite seeing Spaide with a gun, James and Lisa Goy continued to call her names from the middle of the street.
Allegedly, Spaide opened fire on the couple, shooting them both on several occasions. Officials said Spaide returned home and recovered another firearm, which he reportedly used to shoot them again.