Medical ruling: Teen's shooting not accidental
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Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The 14-year-old son of Green Bay Packers assistant coach Ray Sherman shot himself in the head with his father's gun, a death the medical examiner ruled a suicide.
Ray Sherman Jr. was helping his family move from a rented home Sunday afternoon when he found his father's weapon while alone in the garage, police Lt. Jim Arts said.
Ray Sherman found his son 10 minutes after the gun went off and called 911, Arts said. The boy's mother, two younger sisters, 5 and 11, and grandmother also were at home but didn't hear the shot.
His father had gone looking for the teen to take him to a movie, Arts said.
The coach told police he had owned guns for more than 20 years and that the .38-caliber pistol and ammunition were usually kept separately. The gun was in a duffel bag on a shelf in the garage.
After an autopsy Monday, Al Klimek, the Brown County medical examiner, said the location of the wound -- right side of the head -- and other evidence led him to conclude the death was a suicide.
"There's just things that we found through the investigation that indicates this was more of an intentional act,'' said Klimek, who refused to elaborate.
No suicide note was found, Arts said.
"There was no indication of anything going on in the young man's life,'' such as being upset about the family's move, the lieutenant said.
Arts helped coach the boy on an eighth-grade football team at Lombardi Middle School in Green Bay.
The school opened the gym Sunday night as a gathering place for about 100 grieving students and another 75 adults. Crisis counselors were available for students at school Monday.
Packers coach and general manager Mike Sherman, no relation his assistant, issued a statement Monday evening holding out the possibility that the shooting was accidental.
He said that on the day of the boy's death, he played in a soccer game, practiced drum lessons, worked with his mother in a garage sale and planned to go to a 7 p.m. movie, "The Matrix Reloaded,'' with his father.
There was "no note left behind and or anything in his life to suggest that this young man had any plans other than living his life to the fullest,'' Mike Sherman said. "I appeal to everyone to offer prayers as this family begins the process of dealing with their loss.''
Ray Sherman joined the Packers staff in 2000 as the wide receivers coach. He has been in the NFL for 15 seasons as a coach for the Vikings, Steelers, Jets, 49ers and the Falcons and the former Houston Oilers.
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