Paragraph one reads: "- Robert Pryor Sr., the 70-year-old man who shot and killed himself Tuesday after shooting two people who remain hospitalized in serious condition, was "not crazy at all" but had recently not taken well to new medication, a cousin said."

Paragraphs eleven and twelve read: " 'Everything seemed OK. He just seemed very subdued, and I think it was the medication,' Urzan said. 'He had said he didn’t like taking it'."

"Russo would not discuss Pryor’s mental health. He said a number of weapons, both rifles and handguns, were removed from the home."

Paragraph fourteen reads: "The shootings came as a shock to many, from neighbors who said they knew little about Pryor but noticed a pool party there Sunday to the families of the victims and the shooter. While one law enforcement official said there was information indicating Pryor had been angry with his daughter and another suggested depression as a possible cause, his suicide likely means a specific motive will never be established."

http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/07/15/news/doc4c3e35d5c1d0d273033333.txt

Pryor was 'not crazy at all'

Published: Thursday, July 15, 2010

By Dave Canfield
The Record

POESTENKILL - Robert Pryor Sr., the 70-year-old man who shot and killed himself Tuesday after shooting two people who remain hospitalized in serious condition, was "not crazy at all" but had recently not taken well to new medication, a cousin said.

The U.S. Army veteran and retired Verizon employee, who authorities said may have had a history of mental health issues, suffered from diabetes and had several strokes and a heart attack in the past, said Tina Urzan, who spoke with her cousin as recently as Monday evening. She said the incident was no "psychotic episode."

"I’ve known him my entire life and, no, he wasn’t crazy at all. He was a very smart man," she said. "But after three strokes and a heart attack and diabetes, switching medications …"

Her voice trailed off, unable to provide a reason why Pryor would call his 49-year-old daughter, Laurie Fisher, and his granddaughter’s boyfriend, 24-year-old Anthony Delgado, back from a shopping trip to his home at 9403 Route 66 and shoot each in the chest as they entered before turning the gun on himself. That was the sequence of events described at the scene by Rensselaer County Sheriff Jack Mahar.

Fisher, whose husband Frank owns the nearby Hollywood Drive-in, was in serious condition Wednesday afternoon at Albany Medical Center Hospital but was able to speak, Undersheriff Pat Russo said. Delgado, who dates Fisher’s 22-year-old daughter Amanda Chamberlain, was listed as critical, he said.

Delgado was shot twice in the right side of his chest, while Fisher was shot once. Delgado was stabilized and moved for observation after surgery Tuesday, his brother Aldo said in an internet message.

Aldo Delgado, who was preparing late Tuesday to head from Miami to New York to be with his family, said he hopes people pray for his brother and for Fisher.

Anthony Delgado was originally from Miami but moved to Atlanta and then to Amsterdam a few years ago, according to his profiles on social-networking websites. He had most recently moved with Chamberlain into the home at 9403 Route 66 where Pryor had lived only a few weeks to help him with his medical issues, authorities have said.

Chamberlain was at work when the violence unfolded.

Urzan said Pryor had invited family to the home on Sunday to meet other members of Delgado’s family in Amsterdam. Pryor seemed "subdued," but nothing seemed terribly wrong, she said.

"Everything seemed OK. He just seemed very subdued, and I think it was the medication," Urzan said. "He had said he didn’t like taking it."

Russo would not discuss Pryor’s mental health. He said a number of weapons, both rifles and handguns, were removed from the home.

The revolver used in the shootings was listed on Pryor’s valid New York state pistol permit, Russo said.

The shootings came as a shock to many, from neighbors who said they knew little about Pryor but noticed a pool party there Sunday to the families of the victims and the shooter. While one law enforcement official said there was information indicating Pryor had been angry with his daughter and another suggested depression as a possible cause, his suicide likely means a specific motive will never be established.

Urzan will remember Pryor as a decent man who ended his life on an inexplicable note.

"He was just a very nice man who was under a lot of stress and medication from various illnesses," Urzan said. "Who knows what went through his head. None of us will ever know."

Dave Canfield can be reached at 270-1290 or by e-mail at dcanfield@troyrecord.com .