Dansville Schools cancels events after man's suicide

DANSVILLE – Dansville Schools canceled all events today and this weekend following the suicide of a former student in his apartment above a downtown ice cream shop.

The district's schools were closed this morning as a safety precaution after the 19-year-old Dansville man fatally shot himself in his apartment above Scoop D'Ville in the 1300 block of Mason Street, officials said.

"The events that unfolded this morning leave our community saddened as we have experienced the loss of one of our former students," Dansville Schools Superintendent Amy Hodgson said in a voicemail sent to parents. "Thank you for your compassion and sensitivity for the family and loved ones during this very sad time for our Aggie family."

Grief counselors and local clergy will be available on Monday to meet with students and staff, Hodgson said in the voicemail.

The department isn't releasing the man's name, but news of his death spread quickly throughout the tight-knit community. An outpouring of condolences flowed onto his Facebook page starting around 9 a.m.

Ingham County sheriff's deputies said they were called to the man's mother's home on Fields Road in Ingham Township about 10:30 p.m. Thursday on a report of a suicidal person. The man was at a gathering with his girlfriend and family members prior to the incident, Ingham County Sheriff Sgt. Robert Ott said.

Deputies were told the man took a gun into the woods behind the house and soon after drove to his apartment.

Once in his apartment, neighbors reported hearing a gunshot, deputies said, and police evacuated residents. The county Regional Special Response Team was called after sheriff's deputies couldn't contact the man, deputies said. The team found the man dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when officers entered the apartment. No one else was in the apartment, Ott said.

Ott said the time of the shooting is unknown because the man was dead when first responders arrived at the apartment.