A self-inflicted shotgun blast to the chest in the bathroom of the Falls Township Dick’s Sporting Goods spelled the end for Mark McCarty, Bucks County Coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell said.
McCarty,58, a Middletown resident, used the same gun and ammunition he stole from the store’s gun counter to shoot himself, officials said. Campbell confirmed that the handgun McCarty brought into the store was real, but unloaded.
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Falls police Lt. Hank Ward said McCarty had previous contact with area police departments, including a 2002 standoff with Middletown authorities. He was also involuntarily committed for psychiatric help in 2010.
Online Bucks County court records do not show a criminal record for McCarty in recent years. However, sources tell LevittownNow.com that the man has a history of mental health issues.
According to police, McCarty entered the store Saturday evening and demanded a shotgun and told the clerk to get everyone out of the store and call 911. Arriving police confronted him and he ran into the bathroom, where he was found several hours later in pool of his own blood.
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SWAT officers and police from around the area used a special robot to find McCarty.
“This could have been a nightmare,” Ward said. “Thankfully … he was intent on hurting himself and no one else.”
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