Despondent Man Shoots Self in Stanton
STANTON — A despondent 24-year-old Moreno Valley man shot himself in the head Saturday despite the pleas of his former girlfriend and three Orange County sheriff’s deputies, authorities said.
Christian Hammett was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange where he remained in extremely critical condition late Saturday.
Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Mendez said Hammett showed up at the Harriett Lane home where his former girlfriend was staying Saturday afternoon and threatened to kill himself.
“He was having a streak of bad luck,” Mendez said. “He’d lost his job. He broke up with his girlfriend last week.”
When Hammett went outside, the residents of the home, friends of the former girlfriend, locked him out and called police just before 5 p.m.
Hammett was kneeling in the driveway in front of the house holding a gun when police arrived, Mendez said. Two deputies and a sergeant each attempted to talk to him, but Hammett would not speak to them, Mendez said.
After five minutes, Hammett got up went into the garage and shot himself once above the left eye, Mendez said.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
