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A Man Loses a Zoning Case and Immediately pulls out a Gun and Shoots Himself in the Head

A man in Tennessee shot himself after having his up-zoning case denied. I've been down at the Austin city hall a few times listening to zoning cases, and they can get pretty intense, but nothing near that level. Bo Ward of Bo's Barber Shop needed the official commercial zoning so that he could get a bigger loan and pay off the debts he racked up after expanding his shop. After the vote of 5-7 denying the commercial zoning, Bo walked toward the city council and said, "Y'all have put me under. ... I'm out of here," and shot himself in the head. His death was shocking and upsetting of course to many people in the town. He was well known and loved for giving free cuts to many of the soldiers and their families in the community that could not afford it. The mayor said they would not hold any more council meetings in that room.

Ki works as a realtor for Escapeso Austin Texas Real Estate. His website provides visitors a free search of the Austin MLS.

Posted by Ki Gray - Austin Real Estate on 10/06/2007 07:18 PM

Comments (5)

real estate, zoning

5 Comments on A Man Loses a Zoning Case and Immediately pulls out a Gun and Shoots Himself in the Head

As real estate professionals we are all small business owners ... what would you do if the city voted to no longer allow your business to operate or made regulations so strict you could no longer earn a living?

Makes me sad to see the City Government operate this way.

10/06/2007 07:21 PM

by Allen Wright CNS, AHS, REPS (RealtyU)

What a sad story.....How awful that he didn't think he had another way to deal with this problem....his poor family.

10/06/2007 07:23 PM

by Debbie Malone, Realtor (R), Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake, VA (RE/MAX 1st Olympic)

Why don't we govern ourselves .Do we need city councils? I went to fight one issue at our city council meeting once ,man bad idea ,but we won .This is very ,very sad example of good and helping people being treated like dirt. My deepest sympathy to his family.

10/06/2007 07:58 PM

by Martin Ktoda (John L. Scott real estate )

This sounds so unreal, it is very hard to believe. If it's a heads-up of sorts, lets be paying attention. There are many around us in need of some kind of help at one time or another - let's be sensitive to that.

Take Care - Regards to all

10/06/2007 08:25 PM

by Deborah Pearce - Living Spaces - Kelowna Home Staging & Interior Design (Living Spaces Interiors & Home Staging)

I think zoning cases can get pretty intense sometimes. I have seen a few cases with heated views. I just want to be clear the city council did not come in and downzone his property. He bought the property and asked for a current zoning. Acquired some debt. And then was hoping an upzoning would increase his property value so he could escape his debt.

10/06/2007 08:32 PM

by Ki Gray - Austin Real Estate (Escapeso Austin Real Estate)

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