Does anyone know of a shooter who attempted suicide and failed or survived

It is a question that always made me curious, it is not long ago that I started investigating cases beyond columbine, so I may not know of cases like these but do you know of a case of a shooter who attempted suicide but failed or was interrupted / arrested or did it succeed but survived in some strange way? If the latter happened, how was this possible? I got this question when remembering that Pekka spent a few hours in the hospital before dying, I wonder if there are cases where their suicide was interrupted and they were abruptly intercepted or survived ...

Dont sure if it counts, since that suicide attempt wasnt really confirmed, but Jeong Soo Paek ,in 26 April 1989, after shot dead three people that apparently attacked him, he lost his right eye, the prosecution said that he lost his eye in a failed suicide attempt, but the plastic surgeon, said it was unlikely, although there isnt really any proper conclusion of how he lost his right eye though. In the trial, he was acquitted of the murder charges, being the act considered self-defense. Then in 22 February 2012, he would shot dead four people in a spa, before shot himself, this time dying.
Also, in 16 March 2000, a 16 year old, idenfitied by the media, only as Michael F., killed his teacher, in Brannenburg, Germany, later shotting himself in the head, he end up in a vegetive state (or a coma I guess), until he was declared dead in 2008 (or not dead, since there is some confusion about this case, since it isnt really a notable school shooting I guess) I take the info of his death Here

Well, Dylann Roof wanted to kill himself, but he ran out of bullets.
Also Alek Minassian (not a shooter) tried to commit suicide by cop, but failed.

Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, after going on a racist drive by shooting spree that left 2 dead 10 wounded, tried to become an hero by shooting himself in the head not once but TWICE due to the cops chasing him down but failed then succeeded when he shot himself in the heart.
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Michael F, the March 16th 2000 Brannenburg school shooter, killed his teacher with a shot to the neck and then shot himself in the head, putting himself into a coma. He was on life support for 8 years before being taken off.


The same thing happened to Nathaniel Berhow, but Berhow was taken off life support a day after his shooting.


It should be noted that both of them used 45 ACP1911s (Michael also carried a 9mm Tanfoglio but didn't use it).

Killisaki wrote:

Dont sure if it counts, since that suicide attempt wasnt really confirmed, but Jeong Soo Paek ,in 26 April 1989, after shot dead three people that apparently attacked him, he lost his right eye, the prosecution said that he lost his eye in a failed suicide attempt, but the plastic surgeon, said it was unlikely, although there isnt really any proper conclusion of how he lost his right eye though. In the trial, he was acquitted of the murder charges, being the act considered self-defense. Then in 22 February 2012, he would shot dead four people in a spa, before shot himself, this time dying.
Also, in 16 March 2000, a 16 year old, idenfitied by the media, only as Michael F., killed his teacher, in Brannenburg, Germany, later shotting himself in the head, he end up in a vegetive state (or a coma I guess), until he was declared dead in 2008 (or not dead, since there is some confusion about this case, since it isnt really a notable school shooting I guess) I take the info of his death Here

I did not know of any of these cases! They sound interesting, especially the first one ... they should have investigated more the loss of his eye, if it had been a suicide attempt as such they could have prevented his death and the murders in the spa...

Amok Täter wrote:

Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, after going on a racist drive by shooting spree that left 2 dead 10 wounded, tried to become an hero by shooting himself in the head not once but TWICE due to the cops chasing him down but failed then succeeded when he shot himself in the heart.
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Twice? Oh god! And did he even stand? It's incredible .. I don't know if it's a matter of poor aim or what .. but twice in the head and still alive? and then he was able to become conscious enough to shoot himself in the heart ...

Scowail wrote:

Well, Dylann Roof wanted to kill himself, but he ran out of bullets.
Also Alek Minassian (not a shooter) tried to commit suicide by cop, but failed.

Roof tried to kill himself? I did not know anything! I had heard something that he could have obsesive compulsive disorder or schizophrenia ... all my life I thought he was crazy, especially that he said there was going to be a race war and they were going to release him ... in any case it was his deserved it shows that the is going pretty bad there in jail

Scowail wrote:

Well, Dylann Roof wanted to kill himself, but he ran out of bullets.

Actually, he kept one magazine full of ammunition with the intent of killing himself upon confronting the police. However, when he left the church the police weren't there, so he didn't kill himself.

Federico Guevara missed his first attempt at suicide and hit the ceiling of the classroom. The second attempt was successful, though.

pluviam wrote:

Scowail wrote:

Well, Dylann Roof wanted to kill himself, but he ran out of bullets.

Actually, he kept one magazine full of ammunition with the intent of killing himself upon confronting the police. However, when he left the church the police weren't there, so he didn't kill himself.

Ah interesting, I didn't know that.

In 22 June 1980, Alvin Lee King, after killing 5 and injuring 10 other people at Daingerfield church , went to a fire station where he shot himself in the head with a .22 Rohm RG-10 revolver, more specific he shot himself in the left temple, just above his eye. He survived, although in January 1982, he hanged himself in the prison cell, before his trial.

One man who shot and killed 3 at a divorce hearing at court (I believe, don’t remember his name) shot himself but survived. Also, this one is a double homicide, not a mass shooting, but Nicholas Giampa shot himself in the head after killing his girlfriend’s parents and survived.

I believe one Islamic terrorist did a terrorist attack which killed only 1 and injured several others with a shotgun. That moron tried overdosing instead. Does anyone remember this? I think @PrimateMurder mentioned this before.

Kipland Kinkel wanted to kill himself but was tackled by police before he could do so. He had a bullet taped to his chest that was presumably the one he was going to shoot himself with.
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Matti Saari was also alive in a hospital for a few hours after he shot himself, but eventually died.
I also remember hearing that Alec McKinney tried to kill himself outside the STEM school but I'm not completely sure on that.

lognifiiskurk wrote:

Kipland Kinkel wanted to kill himself but was tackled by police before he could do so. He had a bullet taped to his chest that was presumably the one he was going to shoot himself with.
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Matti Saari was also alive in a hospital for a few hours after he shot himself, but eventually died.
I also remember hearing that Alec McKinney tried to kill himself outside the STEM school but I'm not completely sure on that.

Alec tried to an hero but couldn't figure out the safety on the Beretta pistol. He raised the gun to his head

Sturmer wrote:

lognifiiskurk wrote:

Kipland Kinkel wanted to kill himself but was tackled by police before he could do so. He had a bullet taped to his chest that was presumably the one he was going to shoot himself with.
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Matti Saari was also alive in a hospital for a few hours after he shot himself, but eventually died.
I also remember hearing that Alec McKinney tried to kill himself outside the STEM school but I'm not completely sure on that.

Alec tried to an hero but couldn't figure out the safety on the Beretta pistol. He raised the gun to his head

Remember kids! Learn how to use a gun before you shoot it for the first time! Even if you kill yourself or someone else with it!

William Vincent Smith who killed 9 people and injuring one on the 1946 USS LST-172 shooting. After using his guns, he thought out a knife, stabbing himself three times, but was knocked out by a sailor, surviving his suicide attempt. Although he would later commit suicide with success while awaiting trial on 1 August 1947.

N/A

Dimitrios Pagourtzis initially intended to commit suicide after carrying out his shooting, but was eventually taken into custody alive.

Not a shooter, but a mass murderer: Richard Speck tried to stab himself to death after killing 8 nurses at a hospital, but was taken into custody and survived.

A school stabber named Luke Dollahite stabbed himself in the neck after stabbing 4 students and hitting one with a staff, but the wound was minor and he survived.

Much like Matti Saari, Pekka Eric Auvinen was alive for several hours in a hospital before he died.

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Not quite "surviving," but William Atchinson didn't die right away, seemingly surviving a few minutes. Aim for the brain stem, not the front of the brain.
"After breaking into the school, the officer says he moved through a smoky hallway and came across Atchison, lying on the floor. "There was a pool of blood and he lifted his head and looked at me. He was looking at me," the officer said. "I just wish I got there quicker."
(Source.)

Ilnaz Galyaviev tried biting through his veins in his arm while on the way to the police station.

lognifiiskurk wrote:

Ilnaz Galyaviev tried biting through his veins in his arm while on the way to the police station.

He also tried jumping on his head when held in custody.
I wonder why he didn't shoot himself, given his suicidal intentions proceeding the attack.

Not a shooter, but a mass stabber: Fabiano Kipper Mai cut himself in the neck with his machete but was saved by hospital staff.

Alek Minassian failed to commit suicide by cop.
Alvaro Castillo wanted to kill himself on 4/20, but his dad stopped him.
He wanted to kill himself after his school shooting, but his gun jammed.
He tried to strangle himself with a seatbelt when arrested, but a police officer stopped him.

Federico Guevara missed his first suicide shot but did kill himself soon after

Christopher Williams shot himself twice but still didn't die. He was arrested.

The 15 year old perpetrator of the 2018 Ulan-Ude school attack attempted suicide (possibly with an axe or flammable liquid) but failed, was hospitalized, and was arrested.
Daniil Pul'kin (2019 Volsk school attack) attempted suicide but failed and was sentenced to seven years in jail. The article about the attempted suicide was deleted, but here's a screenshot from a video he posted after the attack (translation added afterward):
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Ho Chung-Ming (1964 Taipei bus attack) tried stabbing himself after his bus rampage, but survived.
Franco Salomon (1997 Taiwan Glass Industry Corp. stabbing) stabbed himself but survived.
Knives generally seem to suck as far as suicide is concerned. It would be interesting if someone committed hara kari after a massacre.

In 1995, after shooting 3 people, (killing 2) James Rouse was disarmed by 2 students and a teacher. While being disarmed he reportedly said, “I can’t. I went too far.” Then in an interview in 2004 he said, “I wasn't expecting to, you know, come back alive.”

It's highly probable that he intended to commit suicide after the shooting. This conclusion is corroborated by his therapist saying, "[James] suffered from suicidal ideation and depression." And in the court documents, his mum was said that she, "described the defendant after the shooting, his suicide attempt...."

dyonqqr wrote:

The 15 year old perpetrator of the 2018 Ulan-Ude school attack attempted suicide (possibly with an axe or flammable liquid) but failed, was hospitalized, and was arrested.
Daniil Pul'kin (2019 Volsk school attack) attempted suicide but failed and was sentenced to seven years in jail. The article about the attempted suicide was deleted, but here's a screenshot from a video he posted after the attack (translation added afterward):
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The Ulan-Ude kid stabbed himself in the chest and jumped in the snow after his stabbing attempt failed. Daniil Pul'kin cut his arms iirc.

dyonqqr wrote:

Not quite "surviving," but William Atchinson didn't die right away, seemingly surviving a few minutes. Aim for the brain stem, not the front of the brain.
"After breaking into the school, the officer says he moved through a smoky hallway and came across Atchison, lying on the floor. "There was a pool of blood and he lifted his head and looked at me. He was looking at me," the officer said. "I just wish I got there quicker."
(Source.)

The brain stem is kinda hard to find, but I didn't think AlGore wouldn't have found it due his obsession with murder. Also, may I ask you if the Glock 19 used in the attack was 9mm or .22?

lognifiiskurk wrote:

Federico Guevara missed his first suicide shot but did kill himself soon after

Actually, like other .22 caliber users, Guevara was still alive until 7 hours later, when he died of brain death (and not blood loss, he fired a shot to the chin, not to the stomach due to contrary belief)

Payton Gendron was interrupted by police at Topps Supermarket

Nikola Radosavljevic, who killed 9 in Jabukovac, 2007 went to his fathers grave after the Shooting and shot himself in the stomach but obviusly survived

Georg R. planned to a suicide by cop and to spit the fact he was shot three times he did not die

Not a mass shooter

Vladislav Struzhenkov, who commited a bomb attack in Russia, in december 2021 immolating himself, survived to the bomb