2 die in nursing home attack

A nursing home resident faces capital murder charges after allegedly killing two roommates using the armrest from his wheelchair.

Guillermo Correa, 56, is accused of attacking the two fellow residents Tuesday night at Lexington Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Houston, police say. The victims, Antonio Acosta, 77, and Primitivo Lopez, 51, died at the scene from head trauma.

The 200-bed home is owned by Pinnacle Health Facilities, based in Plano, Texas, according to state records cited in media reports. The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services is investigating the facility's policies to see whether any of them contributed to the attack, the Associated Press says.

The incident marks at least the second time in the past six months that a wheelchair part has been the weapon of choice in a nursing home crime. In October at the 120-bed Beacon Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Queens, New York, a resident allegedly used a detachable leg rest from a wheelchair to beat his roommate after the two fought over the curtain separating their spaces. The victim subsequently died.

Read more about the Houston incident.

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