Teenager kills himself with his rifle after he was refused a career in the Army

A teenager shot himself with his own gun after he failed an Army fitness test because of his asthma.
David Morrice had spent a year training with the Territorial Army and hoped to make it a full time career before he was prescribed an inhaler to cope with his respiratory problems.




An inquest into his death heard that at the same time, the 19-year-old failed his driving test.

Despite securing a job at the Post Office, he began to withdraw from friends and family and refused help.

The teenager, who was a keen amateur shooter and member of a local gun club, obtained his own gun certificate and bought himself the rifle.

In a statement read to the hearing in Warrington, Mr Morrice’s mother Susan she said in the days leading up to her son’s death, he was upset when he went to meet friends for a night out in Liverpool but ended up on his own.

She said he then ‘cut himself off’ and was in denial that he needed any help.

On April 21, Mr Morrice wrote a note saying: ‘My life is practically over‘ and took the rifle to a park near his home in Widnes, Cheshire where he took his own life.



The hand-written note found in his rucksack also described a feeling of ‘unhappiness with his life’ and he said he would miss walking his dogs, feeding the ducks and shooting at the shooting range.

Eye witness Susan Topping was walking home from a family BBQ at 1am when she saw David standing in Victoria Park in Widnes.

She said:

‘I just thought it was strange. I thought maybe someone had a little dog and they had claimed over the railings to get it. I don’t think the person noticed me, I started to carry on walking.

‘Then I heard the loud bang which sounded like a firework but was much louder and sharper. I stopped and looked around and saw the person I saw earlier lying on the floor.’



Daily Mail