This Week in Gun Violence: Suicides at Sporting Goods Store, Gun Safety Class
Last night, an as-yet unidentified man locked himself inside of the bathroom at a Pennsylvania sporting goods store, then shot himself after a four-hour "standoff" with local police.
The man had apparently had a similar standoff with Pennsylvania police back in 2002. Oddly enough, he was already armed with a handgun when he entered the store and demanded the clerk on duty give him a shotgun. He took no hostages and the store's employees were evacuated immediately; no one else was harmed.
Last week, a Washington man named Brian Parry shot himself during shooting practice at a gun safety course called "Right on Target."
Using the gun and ammunition provided by the teacher of the course, Parry turned the gun on himself in front of at least twelve witnesses. One of the other students present said he had "looked lonely and 'deflated,' add[ing] that 'anytime someone is standing there with a gun pointed at his head, there's nothing anyone could have done to stop him from shooting himself.'"
Although the incidents were not related, both appeared to be premeditated, according to statements by the police.