By Xinhua,
Los Angeles : A man fatally shot himself when officials came to his rented home in a suburb here to handover an eviction notice, the police said Saturday.
The incident took place Friday in Northridge when officials went to his home to handover the court order, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Police officers, escorted to the home by a property manager, announced their presence and asked David Smith, the tenant, to come to the door.
“They heard a muffled male voice, the sound of the front door unlocking and the sound of a gunshot several seconds later,” a Sheriff’s Department statement said.
When officers entered the residence, they found the 54-year-old Smith dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Local media reports said Smith was unemployed and had a history of psychological problems.
It was the second time in less than two months that a person committed suicide while law enforcement officers were attempting to serve an eviction notice in the Los Angeles area.
A 43-year-old man shot himself to death in West Hollywood June 24 when police were at his front door waiting for the person to arrive so they could gain entry into his apartment.