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May 29, 2020
Bandera County man dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound
By Jessica Nohealapa'ahi Goode
The Bandera Prophet
A Bandera County man died on Thursday after shooting himself inside Hevenor Lumber Company. The man, 26, broke into the lumber and hardware store after it closed Wednesday evening. The Prophet is not revealing his name to respect his family’s privacy.
According to Bandera County Chief Deputy Matt King, a passer-by called authorities at 7:28 p.m., after the man was seen throwing a rock at the front door of Hevenor’s, breaking the glass. King said surveillance cameras recorded the man walking to the gun cabinet, taking a gun and going through boxes of bullets.
King said when deputies arrived, they ducked under the push bar of the broken door and heard a “pop.”
“The deputies had no interaction,” King said, adding he notified the Texas Rangers to perform a separate investigation - which is protocol for whenever a Texas law enforcement officer is involved in a ‘line-of-duty shooting.’ “This was all captured on camera.”
King said the man made no attempt to steal anything. Airlife was called, but a severe thunderstorm with tornado warnings had just been issued, and the weather was too dangerous to fly in. The man was transported by ambulance to University Hospital, where he died the next morning.
According to Bandera County Chief Deputy Matt King, a passer-by called authorities at 7:28 p.m., after the man was seen throwing a rock at the front door of Hevenor’s, breaking the glass. King said surveillance cameras recorded the man walking to the gun cabinet, taking a gun and going through boxes of bullets.
King said when deputies arrived, they ducked under the push bar of the broken door and heard a “pop.”
“The deputies had no interaction,” King said, adding he notified the Texas Rangers to perform a separate investigation - which is protocol for whenever a Texas law enforcement officer is involved in a ‘line-of-duty shooting.’ “This was all captured on camera.”
King said the man made no attempt to steal anything. Airlife was called, but a severe thunderstorm with tornado warnings had just been issued, and the weather was too dangerous to fly in. The man was transported by ambulance to University Hospital, where he died the next morning.