Suicide

A man found dead Friday night outdoors near 8748 Sheffield Manor Blvd. committed suicide, police and the Franklin County (Pa.) Coroner's Office said Monday. Authorities were called to the scene on private property at about 7:30 p.m., according to Washington Township Police and Coroner Jeffrey R. Conner. Authorities declined to release more information.

After a thorough review, the actions of police in the June 23 shooting death of a New York man were ruled appropriate, and the man's death was deemed to be “suicide by cop,” according to Franklin County District Attorney Matt Fogal. Adam L. Schillinger, 27, of Saugerties, N.Y., was fatally shot after he pointed what was later determined to be a BB gun at Pennsylvania State Police troopers in the early morning hours at a St. Thomas Township, Pa., home, Fogal said in a news release Monday.

Law-enforcement officers fired 33 rounds at a Myersville, Md., man who pointed a gun at them Sunday morning, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. James Jacob Jardina, 46, was hit four or five times by the two officers in the incident near Smithsburg, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. Jardina was armed with a stolen 9 mm Ruger pistol that was loaded with one round in the chamber and nine rounds in the magazine, the release said. Although he aimed at them, he did not fire at the officers, one of whom was from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the release said.

 An Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training is from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday June 26, and Wednesday, June 27, at First Baptist Church, 7040 Bowers Road, Frederick. The workshop is for caregivers who want to feel more comfortable, confident, and capable in helping to prevent the immediate risk of suicide. The training is geared towards mental-health practitioners, workers in health, welfare or justice, community volunteers, people concerned about family or friends, emergency service worker, counselors, teachers and clergy.

A Hagerstown man involved in a standoff with police Friday told negotiators he was going to “commit suicide by cop,” according to the application for statement of charges filed by Hagerstown police. Neil Shawn LaPine, 49, of 12962 Little Hayden Circle, appeared in Washington County District Court by closed- circuit television from the county detention center Monday for a bond review. Judge Mark D. Thomas kept LaPine's bail at $750,000. LaPine was taken into custody shortly after 3 p.m. Friday after an incident that began about three hours earlier.

Through shared stories, hugs, tears and candlelight, a group of 40 people Tuesday night remembered loved ones lost to suicide and tried to raise awareness about the issue. The Mental Health Association of Franklin and Fulton Counties hosted its seventh candlelight vigil focused on suicide. The event at Trinity United Church of Christ was the organization's first vigil in Waynesboro. Three people shared their experiences with suicide with the group. Linda Baird of Chambersburg, Pa., said her son's family and friends did not know he had stopped taking antidepressants nine months before his death in 2008 at age 33. “It's the kind of tragedy that drives you to your knees asking God to make sense of something so senseless,” Baird said.

Maryland State Police were investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a pickup truck Monday in eastern Washington County. The body was discovered by a local resident at about noon, Sgt. T.M. Gregory said. The truck was parked off U.S. 40, west of the Frederick County, Md., line. “It appears to be a suicide,” Gregory said. “There's no indication of foul play.”

Several area women spent most of Sunday at War Memorial Park promoting awareness of a cause about which they care deeply. It was the first Avon Foundation for Women's Speak Out Against Domestic Violence Campaign in the area, said Jolinda Vishio, an Avon district sales manager from Frederick, Md. Among those organizing Sunday's event were Vicki Cheek and Tammy Miller, co-directors of Y-Roc, an acronym for a Christian-based drama group of 19...

A Fulton County man killed himself after setting his house on fire following a two-hour standoff with police Monday night, according to Pennsylvania State Police in McConnellsburg. William Ross Valentine, 50, of Robertsdale, Pa., died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after holding police at bay from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at his residence at 242 Hoover Road in Wells Township, Fulton County, Pa., police said in a news release. Police said they were contacted after Valentine called a suicide hotline threatening to shoot anyone that came onto his porch.

It is "most likely" that a man whose remains were found in the debris from a house fire on Fairview Road in May also started the blaze, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said Thursday. Maryland State Police said Wednesday that the man, Harry McMullen, 61, died from suicide as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. While authorities believe McMullen started the fire, they cannot conclusively say what started the blaze because of the damage to the home, said Bruce Bouch, a spokesman for the fire marshal's office.