It happened in the dead of night. While most of Dickson City and Scranton were asleep, the overnight crew at the Lowe's on Viewmont Drive was just trying to get through another shift. Then, at 12:36 a.m. on June 14, 2025, the silence of the hardware aisles was shattered by gunfire.
This wasn't some random robbery or a customer dispute gone wrong. It was a cold, calculated execution involving two coworkers who had been on a collision course for over a year.
The Tragedy of the Lowes Shooting Dickson City
If you’ve lived around Lackawanna County long enough, you know that Viewmont Drive is usually just a hub for weekend shopping. But on that Saturday morning, it became a crime scene. Jeffrey Moeller, a 44-year-old father of three, was operating a forklift—doing his job—when Christopher Wasnetsky approached him.
Wasnetsky didn't say a word. He didn't start an argument. He just pulled out a Springfield 9mm handgun and fired.
According to the police affidavit, Wasnetsky shot Moeller in the chest. As Moeller fell from the machine and begged for help, the situation turned even more gruesome. Wasnetsky later told investigators he didn't want his coworker to "suffer," so he stood over him and fired again, hitting him twice in the head.
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He then walked to the front of the store, called 911 himself, and waited for the police to arrive. "I'd like to report a shooting at the Dickson City Lowe's. I was the person that did it," he told the dispatcher.
A "Preventable" Disaster: The Lawsuit and the Warnings
One of the most frustrating things about the lowes shooting Dickson City incident is the paper trail that preceded it. This wasn't a "snap" decision made in a vacuum.
In December 2025, Jeffrey Moeller’s widow, Keisha Moeller, filed a massive wrongful death lawsuit against Lowe’s. The allegations in that suit are honestly gut-wrenching. It claims that for over a year, both men had been warning management that things were going south.
- Jeffrey Moeller reportedly emailed managers expressing "deep concern" that Wasnetsky was a danger to himself and others.
- Christopher Wasnetsky allegedly told management he was "physically shaking with anger" and that his mental health was deteriorating because of Moeller.
- Management's response? They supposedly told Moeller that Wasnetsky wasn't a danger and kept them on the same overnight shifts.
The lawsuit claims Wasnetsky even fabricated grievances, like accusing Moeller of changing the font size on store computers just to annoy him. While Lowe's found these claims meritless, they didn't separate the two men. That failure to act is the core of the legal battle now playing out in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
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Why the Location Name is Confusing
You’ll see people calling this the "Scranton Lowe's shooting" or the "Dickson City Lowe's shooting." Basically, the store is located on Viewmont Drive. While the mailing address often says Scranton, the physical site and the 911 dispatch records frequently reference Dickson City because of how the borough lines fall near the Viewmont Mall.
Regardless of what you call it, the impact on the local community was the same. The store remained closed for a period following the event, leaving a haunting emptiness in a parking lot that's usually packed with contractors and DIYers.
The Prep Work Behind the Crime
Wasnetsky didn't just walk in with a gun he found. He bought the Springfield 9mm just five days before the shooting. He told police he had been practicing in his backyard in Dalton, PA, specifically getting ready to kill Moeller.
He had even sent an email to Lowe’s management shortly before the act, essentially saying the company "could have prevented" what was about to happen. It's a level of premeditation that led prosecutors to file first-degree murder charges immediately.
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Workplace Safety Insights and Realities
When we talk about the lowes shooting Dickson City, it’s easy to focus only on the horror. But there are practical, albeit grim, lessons here for anyone working in retail or management.
- HR Documentation Matters: If you feel unsafe at work, keep every email. Jeffrey Moeller did exactly that, and those records are now the backbone of his family's search for justice.
- The "Vibe" is Often Right: Coworkers mentioned that Wasnetsky seemed "off" or "not right in the head" following a previous traumatic injury. If a workplace conflict feels like it’s escalating beyond professional bickering into personal obsession, it usually is.
- Third-Party Reporting: Sometimes internal HR isn't enough. In many states, you can report workplace safety concerns to OSHA, especially if there's a credible threat of violence that management is ignoring.
Honestly, it's a tragedy that didn't have to happen. A family lost a father, and a community lost its sense of safety in a place as mundane as a hardware store. As the court case against Lowe's proceeds through 2026, the focus remains on whether corporate negligence played a bigger role than anyone wants to admit.
Actionable Steps for Workplace Safety
If you find yourself in a situation where workplace tensions are escalating:
- Create a Paper Trail: Never rely on "chatting" with a manager. Send an email summarizing the conversation so there is a time-stamped record.
- Request Shift Separation: Formally ask in writing to be moved to a different shift or department if a specific individual makes you fear for your safety.
- Know Your Rights: Under the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, employers are required to provide a workplace "free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm." This includes the threat of workplace violence.
Keep a close eye on the Lackawanna County court dockets for updates on the Wasnetsky trial and the Moeller family's civil suit. These proceedings will likely set new precedents for how big-box retailers are required to handle internal employee threats.