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Customer kills self at gun range
Suicide apparently first of its kind in Fresno County
By Diana Marcum, The Fresno Bee
December 14, 2002
The first customer of the day Friday at a north Fresno shooting range fired two bullets into a target before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.
The suicide of David Crowe, 79, at The Range, an indoor center tucked behind Costco on West Shaw Avenue, brought to Fresno a phenomenon that has struck at other ranges.
"It happens more than people realize, said Ray Schooch, manager of Pavilion Gun Range in Stockton. "It's a sorry thing for us in the business."
There are no comprehensive statistics for suicides at gun ranges. Modesto has had four people commit suicide at a shooting range in the past five years. Police in San Diego said they average two such deaths a year. Los Angeles County had 12 gun-range suicides between 1995 and 2002.
Fresno police and officials at the Fresno County Coroner's Office said the death Friday was the first gun-range suicide they could recall in the county.
Schooch was working at the Stockton range six years ago when a young man shot himself. A year before that, when the range belonged to another family, a mentally ill man shot another man and then shot himself. The murder-suicide was behind the change of ownership, Schooch said.
Employees of The Range declined to answer questions Friday. Owner Ron Sawl, a local attorney, did not return phone calls.
The manager of Fresno Rifle and Pistol Club in Auberry said suicides are a danger of which shooting ranges are well-aware.
"It's one of the risk factors. You've got to keep an eye on the clientele and boot them out if anything looks funny," said the manager, who would identify himself only as George.
Many gun-range proprietors, in an effort to weed out the suicidal, will not let anyone renting a gun shoot alone.
Many shooting-range proprietors require that customers who rent guns fill out questionnaires with queries such as "Do you have a history of mental illness?" or "Are you feeling suicidal?"
If someone brings in their own gun, there are few checks to prevent them from turning it on themselves. Crowe used his Beretta pistol. He was the only person on the range, according to the Coroner's Office. The shooting occurred between 10:10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
"It's a terrible thing. You're busy working and then you look and someone is down. How can you understand it?" Schooch said. "If any of those employees there need to talk, tell them to call us. We know all about it."
The reporter can be reached at dmarcum@fresnobee.com or 441-6375.
Suicide apparently first of its kind in Fresno County
By Diana Marcum, The Fresno Bee
December 14, 2002
The first customer of the day Friday at a north Fresno shooting range fired two bullets into a target before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.
The suicide of David Crowe, 79, at The Range, an indoor center tucked behind Costco on West Shaw Avenue, brought to Fresno a phenomenon that has struck at other ranges.
"It happens more than people realize, said Ray Schooch, manager of Pavilion Gun Range in Stockton. "It's a sorry thing for us in the business."
There are no comprehensive statistics for suicides at gun ranges. Modesto has had four people commit suicide at a shooting range in the past five years. Police in San Diego said they average two such deaths a year. Los Angeles County had 12 gun-range suicides between 1995 and 2002.
Fresno police and officials at the Fresno County Coroner's Office said the death Friday was the first gun-range suicide they could recall in the county.
Schooch was working at the Stockton range six years ago when a young man shot himself. A year before that, when the range belonged to another family, a mentally ill man shot another man and then shot himself. The murder-suicide was behind the change of ownership, Schooch said.
Employees of The Range declined to answer questions Friday. Owner Ron Sawl, a local attorney, did not return phone calls.
The manager of Fresno Rifle and Pistol Club in Auberry said suicides are a danger of which shooting ranges are well-aware.
"It's one of the risk factors. You've got to keep an eye on the clientele and boot them out if anything looks funny," said the manager, who would identify himself only as George.
Many gun-range proprietors, in an effort to weed out the suicidal, will not let anyone renting a gun shoot alone.
Many shooting-range proprietors require that customers who rent guns fill out questionnaires with queries such as "Do you have a history of mental illness?" or "Are you feeling suicidal?"
If someone brings in their own gun, there are few checks to prevent them from turning it on themselves. Crowe used his Beretta pistol. He was the only person on the range, according to the Coroner's Office. The shooting occurred between 10:10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
"It's a terrible thing. You're busy working and then you look and someone is down. How can you understand it?" Schooch said. "If any of those employees there need to talk, tell them to call us. We know all about it."
The reporter can be reached at dmarcum@fresnobee.com or 441-6375.
