Armed man kills self in Pa. sports store bathroom

We all know there are some really mentally unstable people in this world, and some of them happen to get their hands on a gun. Well, I don't really know what was going on in this guy's mind when he decided to commit suicide, but I'd like to hear your explanations as to why he went to all this trouble.

FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa. (AP) -- Police say an armed man barricaded himself inside an eastern Pennsylvania sports store bathroom and killed himself.

Police say the man entered Dick's Sporting Goods in Fairless Hills on Saturday night and asked to see a shotgun and ammunition. Once the clerk handed those over, the man pulled out a handgun and ordered the worker to undo the shotgun's gun lock.

Police say the man then barricaded himself inside a bathroom in the Bucks County store. He didn't take any hostages.

The store and nearby businesses were evacuated during the four-hour-long standoff.

Police say the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His name wasn't immediately released. No one else was hurt.

Lt. Henry Ward says the man had been involved in a standoff with Middletown officers in 2002.

So yes, you read that right... this guy went to Dick's Sporting Goods, asked for a shotgun and shells, then pulled out a handgun and ordered a worker to remove the gun lock, then he goes to the bathroom and kills himself with the shotgun. Now, my question is, why did this man go to all that trouble to kill himself when he had a handgun from the start. Did he do it to add to shock value? Was there an agenda behind this that we don't know? Or was this guy really dumb?

Source

He thought he could miss with the handgun - you cant miss with a 12.

Now considering the other stupid thread, the real question is... WAS HE A DEMOCRAT?

Dear god...

Originally posted by FraternitasSaturni
He thought he could miss with the handgun - you cant miss with a 12.

Now considering the other stupid thread, the real question is... WAS HE A DEMOCRAT?

Dear god...

That was my thoughts to, he was scared he would miss.. since they didn't specify the caliber of handgun it was, who knows.. if it was a large caliber, I don't think he had to worry about missing lol.

I would have to think it was because he did fear ending up a vegetable, and wanted to make sure he was nicely splattered.

But I have to throw my mind along with the wind, you know, what angle could there be... can it be somehow tied to the gun debate - was he a patsy, doped up and sent in with the squirrels in his ear telling him to end it all, psyop, bluebeam, nwo style etc etc.. no doubt those who desire to will find some truth there...

who knows.

At least he didn't take out others. Has to be a first time I've read "Gunman robs gun store with gun. shoots self after." in a thread on ATS however!!

Well.. before saying more, I'd ask one thing. What was his level of knowledge or experience with Police, Medical or Mental Health professions? If he'd had real contact? Then...I'll buy that he actually put the thought into the fact a fair % of those who try suicide with a firearm ..FAIL...and the failure is usually far worse than dying would have been.

I just tend to think very very few people think of that. I know it only because I heard my father and other cops talk about it..before hearing it again from Psych professionals at the college. People have a human nature and that nature tends to fight by twitch at the last second...making too many a "Near suicide".


IF my first thoughts are right and he has no experience to suggest he'd be thinking like a cop or a psych? Then he's a real piece of crap and a poster with his picture wouldn't be statement enough.

A handgun makes a head wound. A small to fair size hole going in...and a larger hole to half his head going on the way out. Makes a big mess on the wall behind him as he shoots. I'll NOT link pictures for crime scene photos ..but suffice it to say, plenty are out there.

A shotgun ....erases the head as if it had never friggin been there. You don't have a wall with a mess..you have a ROOM with 2-3 walls covered in what was once his brains and skull. I think he wanted to go out in as big a flash and splash as possible and make as big a mess as possible ......and short of a hand grenade, he did it.

Maybe he walked in there with the intention of stealing firearms and ammo to go on a spree style shooting and couldn't go through with it at the last minute. There are too many unknowns about the mans personal life to draw any real conclusions though. Could have recently lost his job, wife, house, you name it, everyone handles stress differently and some people can't handle stress at all.

Ultimately the flaw in this approach is that we're seeking to impose a framework of rationality over an act, or series of acts that, by definition, were irrational.

Originally posted by Hefficide

Ultimately the flaw in this approach is that we're seeking to impose a framework of rationality over an act, or series of acts that, by definition, were irrational.

Good point, that's why I didn't put it in a more serious forum for a serious debate, I just thought the guy went to a lot of effort to end his life, when he had an easier way out.

reply to post by eXia7


My honest opinion is that he probably found he couldn't commit suicide and created this plan as a means of digging the hole deep enough that he would not see a way out.

Another possibility is that he added steps and dragged it out as far as it could go in a bargaining / desperation behavior - hoping that, at some point, God would send some sort of sign to let him know he needed to live. This kind of bargaining is very common in severely depressed people and is probably way quite a few suicidal people have a spasm of extreme socializing right at the end. They're silently praying that somebody will catch on and say or do the "right" thing to let them know they need to live.

Then again, maybe he figured the pistol wouldn't get the implants he believed that the aliens inserted into his head. Or he wanted to make a scene so his ex-wife would see his death on the news and would suffer...

Empathizing with that type of thinking is taxing however... so those examples will have to suffice.

reply to post by eXia7


was the sidearm a live weapon , with ammunition ?

that is the most obvious follow up to your question - why use a sidarm to steal a shotgun - then commit suicide with the shotgun

my take would be the sidearm could have been a replica / de-actvated collectors item / inporative / no ammunition item

America seems to be in a Great Depression.
Just yesterday I was reading about the guy who shot himself dead in front of kids.