Forklift keys and font size blamed for fatal Pennsylvania Lowe’s coworker shooting. A lawsuit now says the chain is partially responsible

A newly filed wrongful death lawsuit claims that Lowe’s ignored escalating warning signs that could have prevented the June 14, 2025, fatal shooting of employee Jeffrey Moeller Jr. at the company’s Scranton, Pennsylvania, store over seemingly minor workplace grievances, including accusations over forklift keys and font size change.

The civil complaint, filed in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas by Moeller’s widow, Keisha Moeller, alleges Lowe’s was negligent and reckless by failing to act on clear signals of danger posed by fellow employee Christopher M. Wasnetsky, who is now charged with murder in the first degree in connection with Moeller’s death.

According to the lawsuit, the hostility between the two men had been building for more than a year before the shooting. Plaintiff attorneys Joel J. Feller and Scott S. Berger Jr. wrote that Lowe’s was fully aware of Wasnetsky’s “deep personal animosity” toward Moeller and that management knew protection measures were necessary.

“Lowe’s could have, and should have, prevented Mr. Moeller’s death by simply ensuring that Mr. Wasnetsky would not encounter Mr. Moeller on its premises,” the suit states, saying the company could have separated shifts, moved Wasnetsky, or terminated him, according to local news outlet WVIA.

A series of bizarre complaints

The suit also details bizarre grievances that the alleged shooter reportedly leveled against Moeller, including accusations that Moeller “hid keys for power equipment,” “parked forklifts to block him from moving through the store,” and changed the font size on his work computer to spite him. “Lowe’s determined that none of these, and other of Mr. Wasnetsky’s grievances, had merit,” the complaint says, according to Law & Crime.

Prosecutors say that on the night of the shooting, Moeller was operating a forklift when Wasnetsky approached with a 9 mm handgun hidden in a shopping cart, pulled it out at close range, and shot him in the chest. Wasnetsky allegedly continued firing as Moeller fell and then again at close range to the head, according to surveillance video reviewed by police.

Wasnetsky then called 911 to confess, telling dispatchers that he had been the shooter. Police charged him with first-degree murder; he remains in the Lackawanna County Prison awaiting trial.

In the lawsuit, Moeller’s wife contends the company “recklessly gave Mr. Wasnetsky unfettered access” to her husband, failed to supervise him, and “failed to adequately protect Mr. Moeller,” creating what the complaint calls a “hostile environment” that culminated in his “horrific and painful death.”

The complaint also notes that Moeller had voiced serious safety concerns to management and human resources, warning that Wasnetsky posed a risk to himself and others. Despite these warnings, the suit claims Lowe’s reassured Moeller that Wasnetsky “was not a danger,” leaving him to continue working alongside his future killer.

Lowe’s, in a brief statement in response to the lawsuit, said that the safety of its associates and customers “is our top priority” and that it has been cooperating with the ongoing law enforcement investigation, but provided no additional comment on the litigation.