Coroners Procession Held for Fallen LA County Firefighter
AGUA DULCE (CNS) – The investigation into what prompted a Los Angeles County firefighter to gun down one of his colleagues inside the Agua Dulce fire station appeared focused Wednesday on an ongoing workplace dispute between the gunman and his victim, while a fire captain who was also shot remained hospitalized.
The firefighter who was killed in the Tuesday morning shooting at the station was officially identified by the coroner’s office Wednesday as 44-year- old Tory Carlon, a 20-year veteran of the county fire department. He was married with three daughters.
Carlon, who was shot multiple times in the upper body, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting that occurred about 10:55 a.m. Tuesday at Fire Station 81 in the 8700 block of Sierra Highway, county Fire Chief Daryl Osby said. A 54-year-old fire captain suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition with stable vital signs. He has not been identified.
After the shooting, the gunman, an off-duty county firefighter who also worked at Station 81, drove to his home in Acton about 10 miles from the station and appeared to set fire to the structure. He was later found dead in the home’s backyard of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
The coroner’s office identified him Wednesday as 45-year-old Jonathan Patrick Tatone.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva, whose agency is handling the shooting investigation, declined to comment on details of the investigation late Wednesday morning. But sheriff’s homicide Lt. Brandon Dean told The Associated Press that preliminary interviews with station employees indicate there was “some workplace beef” between Carlon and Tatone. He did not elaborate other than to say, “It sounds like they didn’t like each other.”
The Los Angeles Times, citing two sources with knowledge of the situation, reported that there was an ongoing dispute between Carlon and the gunman. The sources told The Times the dispute was apparently over the way the station was run and maintained, and the pair had argued in the past about various issues.
Carlon’s brother, Brent, wrote on Facebook Tuesday: “I don’t post a lot of personal information on Facebook, but will everyone please keep our family in your prayers as my brother is the firefighter that was killed in the shooting in Agua Dulce today.”
A family friend, Deborah Stilson, established a GoFundMe page to assist Carlon’s wife, Heidi, and their three daughters.
“Everyone who knew Tory loved him,” Stilson wrote on the page. “He was an extremely dedicated father and husband who brought a sense of calm to everyone. He absolutely loved being a firefighter and serving others. His family and friends are devastated by this loss.”
The fundraising page is at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-carlon- family. As of Wednesday afternoon, it had raised more than $83,000.
Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered flags at the state Capitol lowered to half- staff in honor of Carlon.
“Together with all Californians, we mourn the tragic and senseless loss of a brave and dedicated firefighter and community leader whose selfless service will not be forgotten,” Newsom said in a statement. “Jennifer and I send our deepest condolences to Firefighter Specialist Carlon’s loved ones and colleagues. Our thoughts are also with the fire captain who was seriously injured in the shooting.”
Osby struggled to maintain his composure Tuesday as he discussed the shooting.
“I stand here with a heavy heart,” Osby said. “Today is truly a sad day and a tragic day for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. And I stand here from the perspective that you see other people do, but I just never thought it would be me or our fire department family that would suffer this type of loss.
“… I recognize and we all recognize that the work that our firefighters and our firefighter-paramedics do is a dangerous and arduous profession. And many times they put their lives in danger to protect and serve others when they receive 911 calls for service. But yet, as a fire chief, I never thought that when our firefighters face danger that they would face that danger in one of our community fire stations.”
Carlon’s body was carried in a solemn procession overnight from the Agua Dulce fire station to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Earlier Tuesday night, about 200 people attended a vigil in Acton, attended by residents and county fire department colleagues.
One firefighter said of Carlon: “When it comes to being a father, when it comes to being a fireman, when it comes to being a mentor, there was nobody that could parallel that.”
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