Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Tyrone man dies of self-inflicted gunshot at town's Founders Day By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com Three Tyrone police officers and another city employee witnessed a Tyrone man shoot and kill himself Saturday morning just after the town's Founders Day festivities began, police said. The officers were alerted to the area after hearing two gun shots fired in the air by Michael Anderson Stephens, 53, moments before he shot himself once with his .40-cal semi-automatic handgun, said Police Chief Johnny Hay. Just before the shooting, Stephens had jumped on top of a Chevy Suburban in a field across the street from the town's baseball fields that is used as a parking lot for Founders Day, Hay said. Paramedics were summoned to the scene after the incident occurred at 10:29 a.m., Hay said. The shooting came just after the 5K road race finished, but Hay said he didn't think many people witnessed the incident. Stephens was on some type of medical disability leave from his position at Northwest Airlines, Hay said. Stephens' wife, Kim, is the coordinator for the town's Founders Day program. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to the News Home Page| Back to the top of the page