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U.S. Navy member found dead in apparent suicide in Sasebo park

13 Comments

The body of an American sailor from the U.S. Navy base in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, was found Friday morning, police said.

Police said the man, whose body was found at around 12 a.m., had a gunshot wound to the head and believe he may have committed suicide, Sankei Shimbun reported.

According to police, they received a call from the base at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, saying that one of the men had been talking about suicide and that he had left the base with a pistol.

Police found the body in a park near the base. The gun was clutched in the man’s right hand and there was nobody else seen in the area at that time, police said.

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13 Comments
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I wonder just what forced this guy into taking his own life! And how in the world did he manage to leave the base with a firearm?

A lot missing from this story and hopefully an update will follow!

7 ( +8 / -1 )

If the guy had been talking about suicide this is a failure on the part of anyone who heard it and did nothing. Such a waste.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Very sad.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

To those who wonder how he managed to leave base with a gun it was a pistol and easily concealed. The tragedy is that he had been talking about suicide and seemed to have received no help.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Terribly sad news. How awful for his family and friends.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Now this guy must of had access to firearms & took one with him when he left the base. Since he was talking about suicide his superiors must have inventoried the weapons, notice one was unaccounted for and called the local police. Sad but this could have been avoided. When someone is talking suicide you should stay with that person, call the police or medics to have the person evaluated at a hospital. I wonder if the military will pay his beneficiary his life insurance ???

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Yubaru and zichi

If he was in a position where he had regular access to a pistol for his job, it would not be difficult at all to check it out and leave with it. It's not like people are x-rayed on the way out of the gate.

The problem is that at least one person had heard him talk about suicide and did not say anything until after he had left with the firearm. If something had been said earlier, there would have been no way he would have been allowed access to any weapon and he would have gotten help. If he spoke about wanting to commit suicide, then he did cry for help and his peers failed him by not speaking up immediately.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

More questions than answers. Why didn't he commit suicide on the base?

You're asking for reason from a person who was in the mindset to take his own life. Maybe it was a location that held meaning for him. Maybe it whatever was the source of his pain happened there. Who knows.

A little scary a deranged sailor/trooper could leave a base with a gun.

So it's happened once and it wasn't used to harm anyone else. I also guarantee you there will be even more stringent measures in place after this one incident to prevent it from happening again.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This story is incomplete and misleading and some of you have jumped to conclusions. The Sailor called a family member back in the States and expressed that he was thinking about committing suicide. His family immediately contacted the Red Cross who contacted the ship the fastest way they could, an emergency Red Cross message. After getting it, the ship searched the ship for him, and the base did the same when he wasn't located on board. After that it became a joint search for him with the Japanese Police. it's not like his suicidal ideations were known previously and his command had done nothing. It was unfortunate that as a Gunner's Mate he had access to the armory and was in a position to circumvent the strict weapons control procedures. His death was tragic and the fact that someone was able to take an unauthorized weapon off base is unacceptable, but I really don't see how this incident could have been prevented. Anyone else entrusted to carry or have access to lethal weapons, like a police officer or member of the JSDF, could do the same thing.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I was stationed in Sasebo on a ship. Accountability for firearms is a must. The fact he had one and left the base...means someone didnt do thier job. Lots to answer for.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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