News
Man barricaded in home takes own life after SWAT response
Chris Dabovich/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
A standoff between a Benson man and authorities Wednesday resulted in the barricaded man taking his own life.
Clay Eugene Mullenix, 46, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head from a .357 magnum revolver, said acting Benson Police Chief Paul Moncada. He said a check of the weapon revealed it to be stolen.
The shooting brought a halt to a 10-hour situation that required a response from the Cochise County Sheriff's Office Special Weapons and Tactics Unit at a home on Hollyhock Lane off Route 80 just southeast of Benson and beyond city limits.
Moncada said the incident began at 2:47 p.m. Wednesday (May 27) when a Benson officer attempted to stop a 1971 Ford pickup truck that Mullenix was driving on a suspended license.
Mullenix failed to yield and drove the truck to the home in the 2300 block of Hollyhock. He then brandished a pistol and pointed it at approaching officers who had followed, said Moncada.
That's when Benson Police summoned assistance from the County SWAT unit, said Cochise Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carol Capas.
After SWAT team negotiators were unable to engage Mullenix in a dialogue, they entered the home and were met with gunfire.
"He fired a shot when SWAT made entry," said Moncada. After some negotiating, SWAT members fired "chemical agents" into the home. Mullenix then killed himself.
Moncada said an ex-girlfriend of the victim, who was not home at the time of the incident, lives at the residence where the standoff occurred. Mullenix was also reported to have lived there off and on.
Last week's incident marked the second time in as many months that the county SWAT team had to be summoned.
In an April 21 incident, Randall Kent Oly was shot by SWAT members who returned fire after he emerged from the St. David home he had been barricaded in shooting at authorities. He was 65.
A standoff between a Benson man and authorities Wednesday resulted in the barricaded man taking his own life.
Clay Eugene Mullenix, 46, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head from a .357 magnum revolver, said acting Benson Police Chief Paul Moncada. He said a check of the weapon revealed it to be stolen.
The shooting brought a halt to a 10-hour situation that required a response from the Cochise County Sheriff's Office Special Weapons and Tactics Unit at a home on Hollyhock Lane off Route 80 just southeast of Benson and beyond city limits.
Moncada said the incident began at 2:47 p.m. Wednesday (May 27) when a Benson officer attempted to stop a 1971 Ford pickup truck that Mullenix was driving on a suspended license.
Mullenix failed to yield and drove the truck to the home in the 2300 block of Hollyhock. He then brandished a pistol and pointed it at approaching officers who had followed, said Moncada.
That's when Benson Police summoned assistance from the County SWAT unit, said Cochise Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carol Capas.
After SWAT team negotiators were unable to engage Mullenix in a dialogue, they entered the home and were met with gunfire.
"He fired a shot when SWAT made entry," said Moncada. After some negotiating, SWAT members fired "chemical agents" into the home. Mullenix then killed himself.
Moncada said an ex-girlfriend of the victim, who was not home at the time of the incident, lives at the residence where the standoff occurred. Mullenix was also reported to have lived there off and on.
Last week's incident marked the second time in as many months that the county SWAT team had to be summoned.
In an April 21 incident, Randall Kent Oly was shot by SWAT members who returned fire after he emerged from the St. David home he had been barricaded in shooting at authorities. He was 65.
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