STORMVILLE – A man who held police, crisis workers, and EMS personnel at bay for hours on Tuesday ended when the man committed suicide. The original story can be found here.
Multiple police agencies and crisis workers worked for hours, starting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday to prevent a suicidal man with a gun on the Appalachian Trail in the East Fishkill area from harming himself, as he had threatened.
According to East Fishkill Police Chief Chris Bellino, a man called Dutchess County 911 on Tuesday evening around 7:00 p.m. and indicated that he was armed and wanted to harm himself. During the conversation with the county dispatcher, the man said he was on the Appalachian Trail near Rockledge Road, on Hosner Mountain in Stormville, and had a gun.
East Fishkill police, assisted by Dutchess County Sheriff’s deputies, Kent Police, and the New York State Police, including their aviation unit, attempted to locate the man immediately after the call came in.
During the search, Bellino told Mid-Hudson News that a mobile crisis team had made contact with the man and the trained personnel were working to bring the incident to a peaceful ending. As of 9:00 p.m. Tuesday, the situation was still considered a standoff.
At an unspecified time between 9:00 p.m. Tuesday and 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the man turned the gun on himself and died from a self-inflicted gunshot. His body was recovered on a section of the Appalachian Trail at 1:30 a.m., according to Chief Bellino.
During the hours-long crisis, the exit ramps from the Taconic State Parkway to Miller Hill Road were closed to traffic. In addition, the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response had issued an advisory to residents in the surrounding area to remain indoors and keep their doors locked. The 911 center also sent emergency phone messages to residents of the area.
The name of the deceased has not been released in order to protect the privacy of the family.
