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An officer-involved shooting in Chandler earlier this week has been ruled a suicide — turns out the victim shot himself in the head before getting shot by police.
According to the Chandler Police Department, about 6:45 p.m. Monday, 39-year-old Adam Buckner pointed a gun at one of his neighbors in the 5000 block of West Jupiter Way.
Police were called, and when they arrived Buckner pointed the gun at them, too.
As Buckner was fleeing the scene, he stopped and turned his gun on a Chandler police officer. The officer drew his weapon as Buckner “moved into a tactical position.”
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Buckner and the officer were in the middle of a standoff — it ended when Buckner cycled a round from his .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and shot himself in the head.
Thinking the round fired by Buckner was at him, the officer fired back, hitting Buckner in the torso.
Buckner’s neighbors describe him as erratic — local TV station spoke with Kellie Olson, who lives down the street from him, and gives the following account.
“All I’ve been told is that he’s threatened a lot of people in here. He’s been in trouble, and cops have been called on him several times,” Olson tells 3TV.
An autopsy revealed that Buckner was killed by the shot to the head. The wound on his torso was “potentially survivable,” the medical examiner determined — assuming Buckner hadn’t also shot himself in the head, that is..
