An unidentified man, in an apparent attempt to commit suicide, shot himself in the chest in his car in the College parking lot next to the Connecticut River on Saturday afternoon.
Hanover Police was dispatched to the scene at 3:47 p.m. and the man was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment shortly thereafter.
Officials from DHMC declined to comment on the incident.
John Kapusta, a Hanover police officer, told the Valley News on Saturday that the man is neither a local resident nor a Dartmouth student.
According to a Hanover Police press release from Saturday afternoon, "A Dartmouth Security Officer had just checked out a suspicious person in a motor vehicle and after making an identification and clearing from the scene he heard a low-sounding pop."
"He was subsequently waved down by this same individual who advised the officer that he had just shot himself," the release states.
Officials from Hanover Police and Safety and Security declined to reveal any additional information on the case.
Dartmouth lifeguard Marc Lewinstein '98 said he was working near the location of the attempted suicide at the time of the shooting, although he did not witness the incident.
"We ... weren't aware of the situation until the Ledyard Canoe Club clerk radioed us to find out what was going on," he wrote in an e-mail message.
"I spoke to the investigating officer who asked me if I had seen or heard anything," Lewinstein wrote.
"I noticed another policeman was holding what appeared to be a small caliber pistol in an evidence-style zip lock bag," he wrote.
It was "most definitely the most hectic day of the summer down at the docks," Lewinstein added in the message.
