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Gun Used in Matthew Warren Suicide Was Unregistered
This memorial image has been used online (Photo via Pastor Rick Warren on Facebook)
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Earlier this week, an autopsy report on the suicide of Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren's son Matthew confirmed the distraught 27-year-old died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, however at the time it was unclear where the gun came from. On Thursday, Rick Warren revealed online that Matthew purchased the unregistered weapon online.
"The Orange County Sheriff's Department said the weapon's serial number was scratched off, making it impossible to trace," reports ABC7.
Warren's body was found at about 5:30 p.m. last Friday inside his Mission Viejo home. The autopsy indicates Warren took his life at around 10 a.m. that day.
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In a letter posted to supporters on the Saddleback site last week, Rick Warren wrote of Matthew's pain and anguish: "[O]nly those closest knew that he struggled from birth with mental illness, dark holes of depression, and even suicidal thoughts. In spite of America’s best doctors, meds, counselors, and prayers for healing, the torture of mental illness never subsided."
In the wake of Matthew's suicide, Rick Warren has been using social media to thank supporters and to share messages of forgiveness. He followed his Tweet about Matthew's internet gun purchase with another thought on forgiveness, directed at the seller of the gun:
The Warren family said this week they were holding a small, private funeral for Matthew.
Previously
Son Of 'The Purpose Driven Life' Pastor Rick Warren Has Committed Suicide
Autopsy: Pastor Rick Warren's Son Matthew Died of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
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