An 84-year-old man was found shot to death Thursday afternoon near a Vandenberg Village neighborhood in what authorities say was a suicide.
Emergency personnel were called out at about 12:30 p.m. to the 4500 block of Titan Avenue on a report of gunshots, said Kelly Hoover, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
They found the man, whose name was not released, lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest, Hoover said.
“Deputies investigated and determined the decedent died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and that no foul play was involved,” Hoover said.
Although medical personnel, including a helicopter, were dispatched, the man was quickly determined to be deceased, Hoover said, and those resources were canceled.
“As a precautionary measure, Cabrillo High School was placed on a brief lockdown due to the close proximity to the location and until deputies could determine there was not a public-safety risk,” Hoover said.
The man was a Lompoc resident who drove to the area, Hoover said.
A firearm was recovered at the scene.
The death was under investigation by the county Coroner’s Office.
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— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.