Longmont Marine's Shooting Death Ruled Suicide: Authorities
LONGMONT, CO — The March 15 death of Longmont Marine Lance Cpl. Riley Shultz, 19, has been ruled a suicide, according to a news release from the 1st Marine Division Press Office. The death was under investigation by the U.S. Navy Criminal Investigative Services, and the recent determination came from the lead medical examiner on the case.
On the morning of his death, Schultz had been on fire watch over his platoon’s vehicles and equipment while part of a field exercise in preparation for deployment. His shift was scheduled to last from 3:50 a.m. to 5 a.m., but according to the news release, when a fellow Marine arrived to relieve him, Shultz was found with a gunshot wound to his head, and died 30 minutes later.
“Our deepest condolences are with Lance Cpl. Schultz’s family, friends, and fellow Marines,” the release stated. “At this time we are asking for discretion for the family.”
In interviews with the Longmont Times-Call, Schultz’s family said that they did not believe the death was a suicide and that he had shown no signs of distress.
According to earlier media reports, both of Schultz’s grandfathers served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, and he wanted to become a Marine from a young age. He joined the Marine Corps in 2017 at age 17, shortly before his graduation from Roosevelt High School in Johnstown.
“He just loved the whole idea of being a Marine,” his mother, Misty Schultz-McCoy, told the Longmont Times-Call. “That was his only plan for after high school. I was worried, but that’s what he wanted to do. He was so dedicated to it. It never occurred to me that he could die before he left for deployment.”
Schultz’s body will be flown this week to Colorado for services scheduled at Loveland’s Immanuel Lutheran Church for April 6. Schultz-McCoy has created a scholarship fund in her son’s name on Facebook.
If you or someone you know is in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
Marines who are experiencing thoughts of suicide are advised to call the DSTRESS Line at1-877-476-7734. The DSTRESS Line is a 24/7/365 Marine-specific call center providing phone, chat, and video-telephone capability for anonymous, non-medical, short-term and solution-focused counseling for circumstances across the stress continuum.
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