Children May Have Seen Grisly Suicide

An 87-year-old man committed suicide last Thursday while sitting in a car parked on the 700 block of Galway Drive in San Lorenzo, according to the Alameda County Coroner's office.

The coroner's office said the man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The incident occurred at 1:06 pm.

Neighbors said the man used a shotgun.

Galway is a crossroads commonly trafficked by students from three schools: Edendale Middle School, Hesperian Elementary and San Lorenzo High.

Neighbors said some middleschoolers were passing through the block when the man parked his car alongside a fenced-off, vacant lot and took his life.

A Hesperian Elementary School parent also told Patch that she received a call from the school saying that buses of children may have passed the scene. She said children had an early day and were let out by 12:50 p.m. A therapist was said available at the elementary school on Friday, according to the parent.

Authorities told neighbors the man lived nearby. But they have released nothing else about the individual, why he took his life or why in this particular spot.