DETROIT—A man who lives at a senior centre in Detroit was in custody Sunday after police said he shot and killed two women that he blamed for a breakup with his girlfriend.

The shooting happened after the 65-year-old man had an argument with his girlfriend that ended their relationship, police said in a news release. They said the man went to his apartment at the Pablo Davis Elder Living Center, got a rifle and started looking for two residents he believed to be responsible for breaking him and the girlfriend up.

Police spokeswoman Kelly Miner told The Associated Press the man shot the first woman, who was in her 50s, as she sat on a bench outside the apartment building. Miner said he then went inside and shot the second woman, who was in her 60s.

Miner said the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, surrendered and was arrested as he came back out of the building.

The first woman who was shot was pronounced dead at a hospital, while the second woman died at the scene, according to the police release. Their names were not immediately released.

Miner said the centre was evacuated and that residents were moved to a police bus while officers searched the building to make sure there were no other victims.

“I didn’t see the rifle until he got right on top of us,” Paul Fratangelo, who said he witnessed the shooting, told The Detroit News. “I said ‘Oh, my God ...’ He said ‘Get on the ground and start praying.’

“It was the grace of God that he didn’t shoot me. I really thought he was going to shoot me. I thought it was over. Instead, he shot both my friends.”

It’s not clear how many people live at the senior centre. Officials there did not immediately return a phone call from the AP seeking comment. Miner said the building has about 80 apartment units.