19-year-old Genaro Hernandez Mendoza was only here to do the jobs that Americans won't do.
Apparently included on the resume would be multiple burglaries. It appears that he entered a Marion County farmhouse, stole several items, and then fled on foot. Subsequently, he stole a truck and returned; stealing several more items - among them an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun.
According to Polk County Sheriff's detective John Williams:
"The evidence showed that while Hernandez Mendoza was driving away from the scene he was the victim of an accidental, self-inflicted gun shot wound from the rifle he had just taken," Williams said.
Williams added that the AR-15 rifle and the shotgun were both angled with their butts on the floorboard and their barrels pointed upward, toward the driver's seat. On the bumpy farm road, the bolt head of the shotgun apparently bumped against the rifle's trigger, firing one shot that hit the suspect and exited through the roof.
Genaro was found dead in the truck - the engine running - yesterday morning. No word on whether the rifle had a high-capacity magazine, much to Portland Democrat legislator Ginny Burdick's dismay. Look for her to write up a bill banning all ammunition in the coming days.
