http://ocregister.com/local/shot00731cci.shtml
Tuesday, July 31, 2001
Woman commits suicide at gun range, police say
The 21-year-old had rented a weapon at Firing Line in Huntington Beach.
July 31, 2001
By DEBBIE TALANIAN
The Orange County Register
HUNTINGTON BEACH A woman committed suicide Sunday at an indoor shooting range where she had gone with her boyfriend, police said.
Le Uyen Thi Tran, 21, was in a shooting booth when she shot herself in the head about 8:30 p.m. with a handgun she had rented at Firing Line, 17921 Jamestown Lane, deputy coroner Larry Esslinger said.
Tran, a student living in Anaheim, was pronounced dead at 9:30 p.m. at Huntington Beach Hospital, Esslinger said. Suicides like Tran's happen once or twice each year at Orange County shooting ranges, he said.
Gary Grassfield, a Firing Line employee, said all customers who check out guns sign a waiver absolving the business of liability. He also said Firing Line requires a three-hour training class for people with no weapons experience. Grassfield said there are no state laws that require such training.
The business has trained employees to recognize if someone is acting like a novice. Employees have turned away several people who seemed to lack experience, he said.
Grassfield declined to comment on Tran's suicide.
Sgt. Steve Johnson, a Huntington Beach police spokesman, said the motive for the suicide is under investigation.
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Copyright 2001
The Orange County Register
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