Shooting death at Agoura Hills range
Second suicide there since last year
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

An 83-year old man from Agoura Hills whose name was not disclosed apparently shot himself Tuesday afternoon at the Agoura Hills Target Range.

"He came in alone and had his own firearm," said Jim Davis, owner of the gun range on Cornell Road.

The weapon malfunctioned so he rented another, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Todd Anderson. A suicide note was found in the man's wallet, Anderson said.

There have been eight deaths at the range since Davis opened his business in 1982. A 40-year-old woman was the first to take her life at the range. A 19yearold teenager committed suicide in 1998 and a mentally ill Thousand Oaks man killed himself in 2000.

Last August, a 57-year-old man walked into the range and shot himself with a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

"We do everything we can to stop the problems of this nature," Davis said. "I've kicked four or five people out (of the range) since November because I suspected (they were unstable)."

Davis said he strictly follows all gun laws. He conducts background checks on customers for criminal behavior and mental illness and will not rent a gun to anyone who seems ill or appears to have used drugs or alcohol.

New visitors to the range must fill out paperwork and wait seven days to shoot. For those purchasing a firearm, the red tape and waiting period is longer, Davis said.

Bill Sparkes contributed to this article.