OTTAWA COUNTY (WHTC-AM/FM) — What started as an attempt to get a man into court-ordered mental-health treatment ended in tragedy at Ottogan Mobile Home Estates, 173 Lizbeth Drive, in Zeeland Township Tuesday night, Dec. 4, 2018.
The man police were trying to help ended his life.
Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jay Douglas said deputies went to the man’s home just before 8:30 p.m. to serve a court-ordered petition for mental health treatment. They met the man on the porch of a mobile home, but he dashed inside, locking the door behind him, Douglas said.
Moments later, officers heard a single gunshot. Ottawa County Crisis negotiators were summoned, along with aid from police in Holland and Zeeland, who cleared nearby homes and set up a perimeter, in the event the man had managed to escape the home. The mobile-home park is near the southwest corner of Zeeland Township.
After several unsuccessful attempts to contact the man, police entered the home and found the him, dead of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound.
His name is not being released at this time.
The incident is under investigation; any one with information is asked to contact the Ottawa County Sheriff’s detective unit, 616) 738-4022, or Silent Observer: at (877) 887-4536; text OCMTIP and the tip to 274637, or submit an online tip via www.mosotips.com.
Anyone who needs mental-health support can confidentially call 211 for resources, or the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Hotline, (800) 273-8255, or, or visit the Metanoia site, or the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan’s site, benice.org. If you are in crisis and need urgent help, dial 911.
