Suicide at the range

[Bob Womack]

One of the local pistol ranges has had about three or four over the last twenty years. I can't quite figure out why it they all seem to go to this one range. By the way, it has a large impact on all concerned. The last time it happened a whole family, including children, were shooting. Of course, as witnesses, they have to hang around and wait, and try to keep the kids from looking. A friend was the range master and had to go safe the pistol. Lovely.

Bob

[threepdr]

I saw this when I was the battalion XO of a training company at Fort Leonard Wood. A kid joined the Army with the express purpose of killing himself and getting some insurance money for his Mom. He had kept a journal with a daily countdown till the first day on the range with live ammo.

With his first round he stuck the muzzle in his mouth and pulled the trigger all in a split second. Blew brains and blood all over his fox hole buddy. He cause trauma and turmoil for his whole training company, not to mention all of the knee-jerk new requirements for suicide prevention. None of which would have helped in a situation like this.

I don't know if his Mom ever collected.

[edlmann]

there was a vid on CNN a month or 2 ago, of a survelance camera catching a woman shooting her son in the back of the head as he shot, then turning the gun on herself. guy in the next stall over looked a loss at what to do.

The range was Shoot Straight in Casselberry, Florida, north of Orlando.

A few weeks later a guy came into the same range, rented a gun, and killed himself.

details here

[gysgt]

Back in the early 80's. A guy walked into the shop early in the morning, rented a handgun, bought a box of ammo, went into the range and shot himself in the head. There were others in the range. Quite a mess.
Gunny

[7.62 NATO]

The owner of the range now requires customers to sign some sort of disclaimer before being allowed to shoot.

My waver would state. "If you commit suicide on these premises your body will be utilized by other shooters for ballistic testing of various calibers and types of ammunition"

[Sully]

Has happened at several ranges in Los Angeles. Now these ranges are very picky about to whom they rent the guns, or they don't let you shoot their guns unless you bring your own gun to shoot first.

In Agoura, there was a stripper who came in and made a mess this way...I guess with these death dealing instruments, it come with the territory...

best,

Sully

[M1Riflenut]

It's happened twice at the local indoor range,last time was a few years ago.
Also recall a local gunshop employee I deal with all the time saying he once had a women come in wanting to buy the cheapest handgun they had. He showed her a selection of used .22's and .25's and asked what she wanted it for but she would'nt answer. Then she asked how much "a bullet" cost. Not a box,she wanted just one. She was asked to leave and they got the plate number off the car and turned it in to the local PD. Don't know if they followed up on it or not.
Personally I know 6 people/families who have had a close family member take thier own life. In 4 cases it was a brother,3 by a gunshot to the head and one by exhaust fumes piped into a closed up car. The other two were fathers via a gunshot but those happened back in the 60's. Tragic thing to have happen,leaves everyone feeling like they are responsible because they should have seen it coming. Some of these people I know have never gotten over it.

[DRB]

Gun shop around here has had it happen a couple times so they will not rent a gun to a single person who does not already have a gun with them. One of the suicides was a Japanese "student" his parents were on a plane coming to see him graduate from college. Only problem was he had goofed off the last 4 years and spent all the money they sent for him to go to school on girls and booze. He was not going to graduate so to save face he killed himself. The range does make you sign a waiver everytime you shoot. Most ranges do. Same range had a church group shooting one Sunday and a girl shooting a .44 mag somehow shot the guy behind her in the neck with it. The survielance video did not catch it but they think she was shocked by the recoil of her first shot and pulled the trigger inadvertantly with the gun pointing behind her over her shoulder. The guy died later that day.