By LUCAS HIGH, Capital News Service
People who live in areas with higher rates of gun ownership are more likely to commit suicide, whether by gun or by some other means, say researchers who study the effects of firearms on society. The correlation between gun ownership and suicide rates takes on added significance given the increase in firearms sales in the wake of tragedies like the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut. This week, a University of Maryland graduate student who suffered from mental illness, shot two of his roommates with a legally purchased 9 mm handgun, killing one before turning the gun on himself. “Firearms suicides tend to be very compulsive acts,” said Professor Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and …
The train conductor told police that the man sat up and laid back down on the tracks as the train approached.
Maryland State Police said they believe that a white male hit by a train off Rt. 27 near the Rt. 140 overpass in Westminster Thursday night committed suicide. Around 9 p.m. Thursday night, police say a train conductor and his assistant saw a man lying on the tracks. The two men say that as the train approached, the man appeared to sit up and then laid down again. He was covered by a large brown paper bag. The conductor was unable to stop the train before hitting the man. Lieutenant Jim DeWees of the Maryland State Police said the victim, James Anthony Harless, 59, was dead at the scene. Investigators said they do not believe there was any foul play. "There doesn't appear to be anything suspicious about this," said DeWees. "We are looking …
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Rick M
9:16 am on Sunday, February 17, 2013
Another unfair and unbalanced guns are evil article! No mention of the lower deaths from homicides in areas where gun ownership is higher. Suicide is a terrible waste but living in an evil society totally unprotected is just plain irresponsible and deadly. more ›