• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Officers shoot, kill suicidal man

Photo

Tony DiNicola

Suicidal man shot and killed

GENEVA TOWNSHIP — A suicidal man was shot and killed after three law enforcement officers shot at him Tuesday morning.

Authorities late Tuesday had not released the name of the man who first shot himself twice in the torso, dropped the gun and then failed to obey orders to keep his hands away from the weapon, according to the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office.

Town of Geneva police and Walworth County sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence at N3095 Dandelion Road about 6:20 a.m. after the landlord reported a suicidal man inside, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The landlord had been at the single-family home near the north shore of Lake Como to talk to the man, Sheriff David Graves said. The landlord saw that the man had a gun, believed he was suicidal and called police, Graves said.

Officers and deputies arrived to find the man inside the home armed with a handgun, according to the news release.

Officers and deputies gave the man instructions to drop the gun, but he refused, shot himself two times in the torso and dropped the weapon. They ordered the man to keep his hands up, but he reached for the weapon, according to the news release.

Town of Geneva officers Ken Mulhollon and Jason Sweeney and sheriff’s Deputy Scott Smith fired their weapons at the man. It is unknown how many shots were fired and how many shots struck the man, Graves said.

After the man was incapacitated, officers immediately started first aid and CPR. Elkhorn and Delavan paramedics also were called to the scene.

Coroner John Griebel pronounced the man dead at the scene at 8:23 a.m.

The exchange between officers and the suicidal man was relatively brief, Graves said. It took time to administer first aid and CPR and for paramedics and the coroner to arrive before the man was pronounced dead, Graves said.

The coroner is not releasing the identity of the man pending notification of his family. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, Griebel said.

Bud Macdonald, 83, who lives down the street and around the corner from the residence where the shooting happened, said he had talked to the man who lived there several times. He said he cuts the grass at the house.

Macdonald described the man as a nice guy in his mid- to late 40s. He did not know his name. He said the man lived alone. He said the man had lived at the residence since last summer, moved to Texas and returned to the residence this summer.

County tax records list Lucian Lange of West Dundee, Ill., as the owner of the home. He could not be reached for comment.

Authorities at 5:30 p.m. still were on the scene and had the block of Whittier Drive approaching Dandelion Road taped off.

Macdonald described the area as a nice, quiet neighborhood. He said you could hear a pin drop in the neighborhood at 3 on a Sunday afternoon, after tourists and boaters have left the area.

The officers and deputy are on administrative duty pending review of the incident, Graves said.

The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office will lead the investigation into the incident.

This is the second officer-involved shooting in Walworth County this year. A sheriff’s deputy in late January shot a LaGrange Township man after the man fired at deputies.