Officers lauded for suicide response
First responders called ‘heroic’ in situation that put others at risk at Motel 6
A man took his own life in Arcata early Sunday morning in the Motel 6 on Valley West Boulevard in a situation that Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn said posed “a threat to everybody in that hotel because he’s armed with a gun and he’s standing in the open doorway.”
The victim “appears to have lit his room on fire,” Ahearn said.
Early Sunday afternoon the aftermath was still being cleaned up in a west-facing room at the Motel 6. Fire damage could be seen on the roof; at least one window appeared to be blown out; and someone appeared to be cleaning the scene.
Ahearn said the incident began early Sunday morning when a motel employee went to the victim’s room. Ahearn said the victim and the employee “had some sort of a verbal dialogue.”
The name of the victim has not been released.
“The victim may have fired a round into the ground, at that point, and there may have been some shrapnel that hurt the hotel employee,” he said.
The employee then returned to the office and called the Arcata Police Department, he said.
A Motel 6 employee and a manager declined to speak with the Times-Standard about the situation. Jason Morley, a media contact for Motel 6, said the company was aware of the incident and cooperating with local authorities.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and team members is our top priority and we’re saddened by this tragic set of circumstances,” Morley wrote in an email to the Times-Standard.
Ahearn lauded the work of
those who responded to the scene early Sunday morning given the severity of the situation.
“The officers were and the firefighters were just so heroic,” said Ahearn. “APD officers get there and they’re met with this man who is standing in the open doorway armed with a handgun. Officers think he shot one time while they were there, ( but) not at officers. In fact, he kept saying his intent was not to hurt the officers. The officers engaged in a negotiation to try to de- escalate situations and to negotiate the victim’s surrender.”
The victim, Ahearn said, was “waving the pistol, manipulating the slide.” He added that officers were concerned that vehicles parked in the lot below the second- story room were potentially occupied. Additionally, the threat of the fire spreading to other rooms was a concern.
Ahearn said there was no opportunity for officers to call in mental health to assist in the situation.
“We were in a situation where we had no choice but to do this,” he said.
And smoke from the room fire was, by then, billowing out of the motel room, Ahearn said.
“The (victim), at that point, knelt down in the doorway and appeared to shoot himself,” Ahearn said. “The officers attempted to rescue the victim. As they got closer to the motel room, the fire intensified … and it started to discharge excess ammunition that was inside the motel room.”
He added several rooms were evacuated, although he did not know the exact number.
Ahearn said multiple other agencies participated in the incident including the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Arcata Fire District, Blue Lake Volunteer Fire Department, Westhaven Volunteer Fire Department and Humboldt Bay Fire.
Arcata Fire Chief Justin McDonald said the damage was mostly contained to one room.
“The fire damage was contained to one room,” he said in an email to the Times- Standard. “There was smoke and water damage to three other rooms.”
He added that the cause is not yet known.
“The cause of fire is under investigation,” McDonald wrote. “There (were) reports of ammunition exploding during the fire.”
Motel 6’s spokesperson did not have an estimate on the cost of damages.