As LACoFD mourns death of firefighter, probe continues into shooting motive [updated]

AGUA DULCE – As the Los Angeles County Fire Department mourned one of its own, an investigation continued Wednesday into what motivated an off-duty firefighter to walk into the agency’s Agua Dulce station and open fire, killing one colleague and critically injuring another before taking his own life at his burning Acton home.

The firefighter who was killed in the Tuesday morning shooting at the station was officially identified Wednesday as 44-year-old Tory Carlon, a 21- year veteran of the fire department. He was married with three daughters.

Carlon was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting that occurred about 10:55 a.m. Tuesday, June 1, at Fire Station 81 in the 8700 block of Sierra Highway, Chief Daryl Osby said. Carlon was shot multiple times in the upper body. A 54-year-old fire captain suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition with stable vital signs.

The gunman, an off-duty county firefighter, drove to his home in Acton about 10 miles from the station and appeared to set fire to the structure. He was later found dead in the home’s backyard of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He has not been identified, nor has the fire captain who was wounded in the shooting.

Carlon’s brother, Brent, wrote on Facebook Tuesday: “I don’t post a lot of personal information on Facebook, but will everyone please keep our family in your prayers as my brother is the firefighter that was killed in the shooting in Agua Dulce today.”

A family friend, Deborah Stilson, established a GoFundMe page to assist Carlon’s wife, Heidi, and their three daughters.

“Everyone who knew Tory loved him,” Stilson wrote on the page. “He was an extremely dedicated father and husband who brought a sense of calm to everyone. He absolutely loved being a firefighter and serving others. His family and friends are devastated by this loss.”

The fundraising page is at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-carlon-family.

Chief Osby struggled to maintain his composure Tuesday as he discussed the shooting.

“I stand here with a heavy heart,” Osby said. “Today is truly a sad day and a tragic day for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. And I stand here from the perspective that you see other people do, but I just never thought it would be me or our fire department family that would suffer this type of loss.”

Carlon’s body was carried in a solemn procession overnight from the Agua Dulce fire station to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Earlier Tuesday night, about 200 people attended a vigil in Acton, attended by residents and county fire department colleagues. One firefighter said of Carlon: “When it comes to being a father, when it comes to being a fireman, when it comes to being a mentor, there was nobody that could parallel that.”

Chief Osby said the gunman also worked at Fire Station 81, but he was not on duty Tuesday. He did not speculate on what prompted the shooting. According to sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean, witnesses to the shooting were quickly able to identify the gunman and his vehicle to responding deputies, who tracked him to his home in the 2600 block of Bent Spur Drive in Acton. Authorities said the suspect barricaded himself inside the home and set it on fire.

Uncertain of the gunman’s status, fire crews were unable to immediately respond to the blaze, and the flames chewed through the sprawling home. As the fire raged, sheriff’s crews spotted a man in the backyard of the home with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The body was seen in a seated, slumped-over position inside an empty swimming pool.

Fire crews eventually were able to douse the flames from the air, making a series of water drops. That eventually allowed sheriff’s deputies to access the property and confirm the person seen in the pool was dead. Dean said investigators would be interviewing other firefighters assigned to the station in hopes of determining a motive for the shooting.

The Los Angeles Times, citing two sources with knowledge of the situation, reported that there was an ongoing dispute between Carlon and the gunman. The pair worked different shifts at the station. The sources told The Times the dispute was apparently over the way the station was run and maintained, and the pair had argued in the past about various issues.

Chief Osby said Carlon had been with the department for more than 20 years and was a career firefighter, starting in a U.S. Forest Service Explorer Program. He described him as “truly dedicated, one of our better firefighters, amazing, and a true loss to our department.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who chairs the Board of Supervisors, wrote on Twitter, “My most sincerest condolences to the family of the firefighter who was tragically killed in today’s shooting at Fire Station 81 in Agua Dulce. My thoughts are with our @LACOFD family. At my direction, flags will be flown half-staff at all County buildings.”

County Supervisor Janice Hahn called the shooting “an unspeakable tragedy.”

“The work our firefighters do is dangerous,” Hahn wrote on Twitter. “They go to work every day knowing they may be asked to put their lives on the line to protect others. Between emergency calls, the fire station must have felt like their safe haven. Unfortunately that sense of safety has now been shattered.

Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the union for county firefighters, said the union is offering peer-support and other services to affected members.

“Fire fighters leave their homes and loved ones every day knowing the risks involved in our profession,” Kelly said. “The challenges of being a fire fighter or paramedic include seeing and experiencing some of life’s most horrifying circumstances. Nothing, however, can adequately prepare anyone for today’s tragedy.”

UPDATE: The coroner’s office identified the gunman as 45-year-old Jonathan Patrick Tatone.

Previous related story: Firefighter killed in shooting at LA County Fire Station in Agua Dulce

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