Evergreen clinic gunman had prior mental health troubles and suicide ideation, Colorado county records reveal

A case file from a 2016 incident shows the 62-year-old Colorado man who fired numerous shots at a medical clinic in Evergreen on Thursday had a previous mental health history. Lance Black died when the Jefferson County Sheriff says he took his own life after firing 19 shotgun blasts inside the CommonSpirit Primary Care facility at Ellingwood Trail and Highway 74. No one else was injured, but staffers had to seek refuge during the shooting. There is significant damage to the building.

The report indicates Black, who was 53 at the time of the incident in October of 2016, was the subject of a welfare check requested by a person concerned about Black's desire to take his own life.

Black told a sheriff's deputy at the time that he had tried to kill himself before but had been unsuccessful because neighbors saw him. The deputy wrote in the report, "I asked Lance if he wanted to kill himself and he stated, 'Yes, I have no choice.'" He told the deputy he was planning to construct some sort of device to take his own life, but had not decided what that might be.

There is no further explanation in the report on why he had been suicidal. He told the deputy he wanted help and someone to talk to. She placed him on a mental health hold allowed under Colorado law. An M-1 hold as they are known, is an involuntary detention for up to 72 hours. A person must be a danger to themselves or others for it to be initiated. If an additional short term hold is requested, a court must rule on that request made by a professional person at a designated facility. It can be up to three months. Any additional involuntary detention must go back to the courts for what's called a long-term certification, up to six months at a time.

The deputy took Black to Swedish Southwest, a facility in Littleton that has since been renamed. She completed a mental illness report and application and released custody of Black to the facility.

There is no additional record of what occurred in the case file.

In recent months in Evergreen, Black told acquaintances he was having health troubles that were frustrating him and he was unable to get effective treatment. One acquaintance described him as angry at times over issues including his physical health and politics.