A Fullerton man shot himself to death at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, where his ex-girlfriend works and had been confronted by the 38-year-old at least twice before, authorities said.
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Los Angeles County Coroner's Investigator Kristy McCracken identified the dead man Saturday as Andrew Thomas Jones.
Jones' ex-girlfriend, who had two restraining orders out against him due to incidents at the park, called Universal Studios security around 2 p.m. Friday to say she spotted him near Mel's Diner, where she works as a waitress, according to Lt. Eddie Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.
Security officers in Universal City contacted the sheriff's department, and after a search of the park a deputy found Jones in a secluded designated smoking area, Hernandez told City News Service.
After being asked to stand up, Jones turned away, pulled a gun from his rear waistband
or back pocket and, despite being urged by the deputy not to harm himself, put the weapon to his face and fired a single fatal shot, Hernandez said.
Jones, who was pronounced dead at the scene, is the father of a child with his ex-girlfriend.
“We are working closely with law enforcement and corporate security on this ongoing investigation,” Universal Studios Hollywood says in a statement. “The safety and security
of our guests is always of the utmost importance.”
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.