Suicide Averted at Westminster Shopping Center

Police talked a Downey man out of committing suicide in the parking lot of a Westminster shopping center, persuading him to drop a gun he’d been holding to his head during the two-hour standoff.

At about 7 a.m. the 30-year-old man, who police said appeared intoxicated and indicated he was distraught over marital and other personal problems, handed a coffee stand worker a note threatening suicide, according to Westminster police.

Officers found the man sitting in his car outside the Goldenwest Street shopping center. The man pointed a gun at his head and allegedly told officers he would force them to shoot him. A SWAT team and negotiator were summoned, and by 9 a.m. the negotiator persuaded the man to drop his gun out the car window.

He was taken into custody and held for psychiatric evaluation, police said.