Police have released the identity of a man who they say died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside the Cornelia Fire Department off U.S. 441.
Police say Eric Luther, 53, of Alto, was suffering from a mental health crisis when he shot and killed himself Thursday afternoon.
“There is no connection with the city of Cornelia and Mr. Luther nor an understanding of why he chose the fire station,” Cornelia Police Department said in a statement on Facebook Friday. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the family.”
In Friday’s Facebook post, Cornelia police encourage anyone with issues of mental health to dial 988 for the suicide and crisis hotline.
Cornelia police responded to the call of a man with a gun just after 2 p.m. on Oct. 24.
Authorities say Luther exited his vehicle and walked with a gun to a grassy area behind the station. When fire department personnel saw him, Luther “told them to stay back” before he “took his own life,” according to police.
The fire station is adjacent to the Habersham Village Shopping Center. Noah Collier tells Now Habersham he was parked outside one of the stores around 2:20 p.m. when he heard the gunshot.
“I was looking toward Burger King. When I looked over, I saw a man lying on the ground and firefighters come rushing out,” Collier said.
Cornelia police say no further information is available at this time.
