Gunman kills himself at South Tahoe ski resort
Part of Heavenly Mountain Resort was shut off to hikers for the better part of Friday because a gunman was on the mountain.
A 25-year-old Fremont man eventually shot himself July 12. Lake Tahoe News is not publishing the man’s name.
El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies get suited up July 12. Photo/Provided
The man had posted a video on Facebook with a message to his family and the GPS coordinates of where he could be found. Friends alerted law enforcement that the Iraq war veteran was suicidal and left his residence with a .308-caliber rifle, .45-caliber handgun and military backpack.
Because El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies knew the type of weapons he had on him and that he was an ex-Marine, they approached the incident as though it could have been a possible ambush.
A resident in the area told Lake Tahoe News just before 4pm a helicopter was circling the California Lodge at least seven times. The California Highway Patrol helicopter spotted the man in a wooded area off Sherman Way in South Lake Tahoe.
By 5pm there was no visible evidence law enforcement had been in the area and people were boarding the Heavenly tram for a wedding – perhaps unaware of the events that unfolded earlier in the day. Heavenly deferred all comment to the sheriff’s department.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
R.I.P. PTSD young Veteran.
This is what the War did to this young man ~
My girlfriend and I saw this on Reddit hours ago posted by a family member of a Heavenly employee and I immediately called the police at 5:13pm to find out if this was true. They told me they knew nothing about any situation like this. I have friends that live over there and I also work at a hotel so I wanted to find out for everyones safety and so I didn’t send guests over to heavenly. I don’t know if it’s standard protocol to keep citizens in the dark regarding potentially dangerous situations like this, but I’m a little upset because I would like to know if something dangerous is going on so close to home.
Bgrdn:
And how many more. Countless I’m sure.
R.I.P. fellow Marine.
Very sad.
I wonder what his connection was to the Mountains surrounding Tahoe.
RIP
He loved to snowboard. I knew him personally, and he was a good man. Despite him remaining nameless, I still feel the need to say that I feel as if he had no intention of harming anyone other than himself. That wasn’t the case. It breaks my heart to lose a friend this way. I don’t want anyone to think that he had any intent of hurting anyone today.
Many thanks to Lake Tahoe News for getting important news to the community quickly. Even when it is unpleasant news.
prayers and thoughts for his family and friends.
I do not understand the (Gunman) label as the Headline.
Why not Marine core Veteran. Or 25 year old Veteran.
He did not come there with any intent to disturb people. This man had a good heart and this is extremely tragic. Thank you media for once again misconstruing a tragic story of a young troubled man and turning him into some sort of bad guy (sarcasm intended). Rest in peace, friend. <3