ALGOMA TOWNSHIP — Authorities say a homeowner suspected of setting several fires on his Rockford-area property has died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.
The fires broke out around 6:30 a.m. the 12000 block of Algoma Avenue between 14 Mile and 15 Mile roads in Algoma Township. One of the fires had started in a barn and one inside the home. Investigators say they believed the cause of the fires were suspicious.
Later, around 9:30 a.m., the 71-year-old homeowner, whose name hasn’t been released, dropped off his will at a Cedar Springs funeral home. When he did not leave the parking lot in his van, the funeral director became concerned and called the sheriff’s office.
Kent County sheriff’s deputies arrived at the funeral home and as they approached the homeowner in his van, the homeowner shot himself twice in the head.
The homeowner was taken to the hospital where he later died. Further details were not immediately available.
Investigators told 24 Hour News 8 the homeowner and his wife were going through a contentious divorce, which may have led to the incident.
Deputies were called to the home in March on reports of an argument. No arrests were made.