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LINDON — A man was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a seven-hour standoff, police said.
Early Thursday afternoon, police responded to an incident in which a 36-year-old Saratoga Springs man with a gun was making suicidal threats from inside of a vehicle. He was not threatening others, dispatch said.
The man had been fired from his job, Lindon police said. But they said they do not know what the factors were that could have contributed to this situation.
- Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK
- Utah County Crisis Line: 801-226-4433
- Wasatch Mental Health Crisis Line: 801-373-7393
- National Crisis Line: 1-800-784-2433
- Trevor Project Hotline for LGBTQ teens: 1- 866-488-7386
SWAT and emergency responders on scene negotiated with the man by telephone. Chief Cody Cullimore of Lindon Police Department said they had three people on the line "just so somebody would have the answer's this individual needed."
Around 8 p.m., the standoff ended after the man fired a round from the gun.
"SWAT operators dispersed tear gas through the back window to try to get him out of the vehicle," Cullimore said. "Immediately following that, the individual shot himself once with a handgun."
Cullimore said they went to great lengths to try and help the man. They placed the SWAT van next to his car and they asked the man's wife to talk to him. Additionally, after the gun went off, responders rushed to the car to give medical attention. He later died at the hospital.
"Our goal here today was to try to get him into a situation where we weren't worried about his life or anyone else'." Cullimore said. "I really think, tragically, he had made that decision already in his mind."
The incident blocked off about five business entrances near 1250 West and 300 South in Lindon, and kept about 100 employees of those businesses inside. Arete Gymnastics canceled classes for the evening due to the standoff.
Further details were immediately unclear.
