Man Dies By Suicide At Gun Store After Asking To See A Firearm

A man in Thurston County, Washington shot himself inside a gun store over the weekend in an apparent suicide, police said.

The unnamed man, who was in his early 50s, entered the establishment located in the 16900 block of state Route 507 in Yelm Sunday and requested to see a firearm, The Olympian reported.

He looked at the gun, loaded it with one round of ammunition that he brought with him and used it to shoot himself, the Yelm Police Department said in a statement obtained by the Nisqually Valley News.

"[The man] turned the weapon on himself and took his own life," police said.

Officers from the YPD were dispatched to the store shortly after 1:20 p.m. Employees told them that the man had died by suicide inside the establishment.

No customers or store employees were injured in the incident.

There was no connection between the man and the gun shop.

Around 24,292 gun-related suicides were reported in the United States in 2020, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The number represented around 53% of the 45,979 suicides reported from that year.

A study published nearly a month ago by the nonprofit organization Everytown for Gun Safety found that there was a direct correlation in states with weaker gun laws and higher rates of gun deaths, including homicides, suicides and accidental killings.

The study gave states scores for their "gun law strength," based on the efficacy of their gun laws and "gun violence rate," as indicated by their documented gun-related deaths.

Hawaii had the second highest gun law strength and the lowest gun violence rate, while Mississippi had both the weakest gun laws and the highest rate of gun deaths.

"What this project does, is show what we've been saying for years: Gun laws save lives," Nick Suplina, senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, said.

"We think this is going to be a really important tool for lawmakers, reporters and advocates that have been looking for the kind of visual tool that can make that case clearly," Suplina added.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.