Death at a Gun Club
My other SIL, who lives in Scottsdate sent me this in an email this morning. I'm surprised the antis aren't all over this. Maybe they will be yet.......young guy. [:(][:(]
rider
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 17, 2007 12:00 AM
A 20-year-old man who shot himself to death at a gun club Monday had been "fighting inner battles he couldn't control," an ex-girlfriend said.
Matthew Errico of Scottsdale shot himself in the head Monday evening at the Scottsdale Gun Club. Errico had recently been "trying to pray and contact God" for help, said Kristina Lucier, who dated Errico for 18 months.
"He was a great person and definitely impacted my life," Lucier said.
Errico was attending Scottsdale Community College as a business major and graduated from Phoenix's Pinnacle High School in 2005, according to his MySpace page. He moved to Arizona from Washington State when he was 14.
Also on his page is a picture of Tupac Shakur on a $100 bill with the words, "Live by the gun, die by the gun."
Police gave this account of Monday's incident: Errico entered the gun club, 14860 N. Northsight Blvd, around 7:30 p.m. and rented a semi-automatic pistol. He was given gun club instructions and paperwork before an employee lead him to the range to fire the weapon. The gun club requires people to watch a safety video and sign a release and waiver form before entering the gun range, according to its Web site.
Errico shot at a target for several minutes before facing the range master and shooting himself once in the head. He was pronounced dead at 8:20 p.m. at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn.
A suicide note was found on Errico, but police are not releasing details.
Jason Phillips, general manager of the 3-year-old gun club, said he didn't know how many people were in the expansive facility when Errico pulled the trigger. But less than 24 hours later on Tuesday, the club was bustling with business.
Some people were there to buy guns, while others had been on the shooting range. Few had heard about the suicide, but were surprised that Errico chose the club to end his life.
"It would never have occurred to me," said Glenn Caudle, 61, of Phoenix, who had come to the Scottsdale Gun Club to shop for a rifle.
Scott Hill, 20, of Scottsdale, who also was shopping for a weapon, had not heard of the suicide, but said he believes "if the young man was that troubled, he would have found someplace else to do it."
Phillips said such suicides have happened at other shooting ranges around the country.
And despite meticulous safety procedures, "It is something that is always in the back of your mind."
For Lucier, contacting Errico had been on the back of her mind. She had mulled calling him lately but "kept putting it off," she said.
"There was something inside of me telling me to contact him," Lucier said. "I just waited and it was too late."
But the memories are still there for Lucier, who said her and Errico were inseparable while dating.
"He was a fun person to hang out with," Lucier said. "We were best friends. We had loved each other."
http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/1016abrk-suicide1016.html
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rider
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 17, 2007 12:00 AM
A 20-year-old man who shot himself to death at a gun club Monday had been "fighting inner battles he couldn't control," an ex-girlfriend said.
Matthew Errico of Scottsdale shot himself in the head Monday evening at the Scottsdale Gun Club. Errico had recently been "trying to pray and contact God" for help, said Kristina Lucier, who dated Errico for 18 months.
"He was a great person and definitely impacted my life," Lucier said.
Errico was attending Scottsdale Community College as a business major and graduated from Phoenix's Pinnacle High School in 2005, according to his MySpace page. He moved to Arizona from Washington State when he was 14.
Also on his page is a picture of Tupac Shakur on a $100 bill with the words, "Live by the gun, die by the gun."
Police gave this account of Monday's incident: Errico entered the gun club, 14860 N. Northsight Blvd, around 7:30 p.m. and rented a semi-automatic pistol. He was given gun club instructions and paperwork before an employee lead him to the range to fire the weapon. The gun club requires people to watch a safety video and sign a release and waiver form before entering the gun range, according to its Web site.
Errico shot at a target for several minutes before facing the range master and shooting himself once in the head. He was pronounced dead at 8:20 p.m. at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn.
A suicide note was found on Errico, but police are not releasing details.
Jason Phillips, general manager of the 3-year-old gun club, said he didn't know how many people were in the expansive facility when Errico pulled the trigger. But less than 24 hours later on Tuesday, the club was bustling with business.
Some people were there to buy guns, while others had been on the shooting range. Few had heard about the suicide, but were surprised that Errico chose the club to end his life.
"It would never have occurred to me," said Glenn Caudle, 61, of Phoenix, who had come to the Scottsdale Gun Club to shop for a rifle.
Scott Hill, 20, of Scottsdale, who also was shopping for a weapon, had not heard of the suicide, but said he believes "if the young man was that troubled, he would have found someplace else to do it."
Phillips said such suicides have happened at other shooting ranges around the country.
And despite meticulous safety procedures, "It is something that is always in the back of your mind."
For Lucier, contacting Errico had been on the back of her mind. She had mulled calling him lately but "kept putting it off," she said.
"There was something inside of me telling me to contact him," Lucier said. "I just waited and it was too late."
But the memories are still there for Lucier, who said her and Errico were inseparable while dating.
"He was a fun person to hang out with," Lucier said. "We were best friends. We had loved each other."
http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/1016abrk-suicide1016.html
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Not much you can do, to stop these kinds of nut cases. [V] 0 -
I'm not against suicide. It has it's time and place. But I wish they wouldn't do it in a shooting range. 0 -
A personal choice made, a bad location selected, end of story. 0 -
If the person was intent on Killing theirself, it doesnt matter where he did it. Its not the clubs fault, nor the gun. We just had a case of where a club member did himself in . He called 911 and informed them by the time they got there all they would find was his body.. He was terminaly ill and didnt want to put his family through all the pain. Guess we should blame the gun.[:(] 0 -
A permanent solution to what was likely a temporary problem. 0 -
A similar thing happened in the town my uncle lives in. Guy walks into a gun store, and asks the merchant if he could look at a particular gun. Merchant hands him the gun he loads it and shoots himself in the head right in front of the merchant. They later found out he had purchased the ammo else where previously.
I guess this is the cheap way to commit hara-kiri.0 -
Some things can't be stopped no matter how many laws you pass. If no guns were available this man would have simply stepped in front of a truck or car. As always guns aren't to blame, people are to blame. I don't know this man but he probably was NOT a "nut-case" as some have said. Some people have very hard lives at times and this is the "permenant solution". Don't be to critical of this man because no one knows what he was going through. [:(][:(][:(]
Mike0 -
This kid was a real piece of work.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=70933360
Obviously, he had more problems going on in his messed up head which felt only a bullet could solve.
D.0 -
We have an indoor range in the city where I work. About once a year someone rents a gun and then commits suicide with it.
Its really unfair to the operators of the facility. They have to deal with the stigma of a suicide, the clean-up, and shutting down and the stress to their employees.
Its too bad that some people have no other way to deal with their problems.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Laredo Lefty
We have an indoor range in the city where I work. About once a year someone rents a gun and then commits suicide with it.
Its really unfair to the operators of the facility. They have to deal with the stigma of a suicide, the clean-up, and shutting down and the stress to their employees.
Its too bad that some people have no other way to deal with their problems.
If I was going to committ suicide (I'm not BTW) I would do it in such a way that only I and the paid professionals were inconvienced. To do otherwise is nothing short of just plain self-centered, inconsiderate and selfish.0 -
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
quote:Originally posted by Laredo Lefty
We have an indoor range in the city where I work. About once a year someone rents a gun and then commits suicide with it.
Its really unfair to the operators of the facility. They have to deal with the stigma of a suicide, the clean-up, and shutting down and the stress to their employees.
Its too bad that some people have no other way to deal with their problems.
If I was going to committ suicide (I'm not BTW) I would do it in such a way that only I and the paid professionals were inconvienced. To do otherwise is nothing short of just plain self-centered, inconsiderate and selfish.
Truth spoken.0 -
WOW! Talk about a makeover. That page used to be chock full of "gansta wigger" crap. Ghettofied to the max.
Now, lil' sis has cleaned it all up so her dead brother doesn't look like the wannabe ghetto-trash he so emulated, in dress, word and thought.
I wonder if her lawyer had her do it, in anticipation of the pending lawsuit against Scottsdale Gun Club, for some kind of perverted "negligence" suit.
Hopefully someone did a screencap of his "drug money" murals and "live by the gun, die by the gun" gangsta crap.
D.0
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