Man Kills Himself With ‘Unloaded’ Gun

City officials sealed off a house where a man with an arsenal of firearms accidentally shot himself to death in front of his wife, police said Thursday.

After inspecting the two-bedroom house in the 1300 block of Winchester Avenue, officials on Thursday declared that a fire hazard was posed by electrical wiring, Glendale Police Sgt. Rick Young said.

Police said the victim, Robert Leroy Shovestull, stored more than 100 firearms in his attic. The attic violated city building codes, leading to closure of the home, authorities said.

The victim’s wife, Madelyn Jaspe Shovestull, 36, told police she complained about her husband’s arsenal Tuesday night, particularly about a gun she saw on their bedroom floor. She said she was concerned about the safety of the couple’s 1-year-old child.

Her husband, 37, picked up the .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and assured her that it was unloaded while putting the gun to his chin, according to police. He then fired, mortally wounding himself, Young said. He was pronounced dead at County-USC Medical Center about 90 minutes later.