ELKO — The suspect in an early morning shooting death on Thursday has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound that authorities say was prompted by his firing from a local business.
John Joshua Jauer, 42, was identified by Elko police after he succumbed to his wounds at Northern Nevada Regional Hospital following a search that ended at Peace Park, closing streets and prompting lockdowns at local schools and the Great Basin College campus.
Police were dispatched at 7:44 a.m. Thursday to Sterling Crane on North Fifth Street on a report of a person being shot, with the suspect fleeing in a red flatbed truck.
Law enforcement agencies including the Elko County Sheriff’s Office, Nevada State Police and federal Bureau of Indian Affairs joined the search for the suspect, who was identified as Jauer.
A sheriff’s deputy reported hearing a gunshot as they arrived at Sterling Crane.
People are also reading…
Robert Demars, 50, manager of the Elko office, was found deceased inside the business.
Jauer’s truck was then located at Peace Park a short time later and less than a mile from Sterling Crane.
Members of the Elko Combined SWAT team and Elko Crisis Negotiators were called to the park to assist.
During the search, neighborhoods were closed to traffic and a lockdown was issued at Great Basin College. Residents were also asked to stay indoors and away from windows.
Police said it is unclear if Jauer had shot at deputies responding to the area.
Jauer was discovered in a pavilion in the park suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Washoe County Medical Examiner’s office will perform autopsies on Jauer and Demars according to protocol.
Next of kin for both men have been notified, police said.
A preliminary investigation indicates that Jauer’s employment was in the process of being terminated at Sterling Crane when the incident occurred.
Police said no one else was involved and there was no threat to the public.
Jauer does not appear to have had any run-ins with the law, except for an arrest on May 24, 2018, on a bench warrant, according to Elko County sheriff’s records.
An employee of Sterling Crane who answered the phone said on Thursday he could not comment about Demars or the shooting. Demars was the Elko office’s senior manager, who normally would have spoken for the Elko branch.
Police released details about the morning shooting and lockdown early Thursday afternoon, hours after a “shots fired call” was reported near the Peace Park.
Neighborhoods surrounding the park were cordoned off briefly, some by officers carrying semiautomatic rifles. Schools and Great Basin College also were placed on a brief lockdown, officials said.
An all-clear was issued shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday, though officers remained in the park to investigate the shooting.
Anyone with information that would assist in the investigation is asked to contact the Elko Police Department at 775-777-7310.
Keith Kohn is editor of the Elko Daily Free Press. Reach him at kkohn@elkodaily.com.