Man committed suicide in Letchworth State Park after shooting his grandfather, police said

IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. (AP) — A 24-year-old man shot his 80-year-old grandfather and then killed himself on Thursday, authorities said, forcing police to evacuate a state park in upstate New York and close it for several hours while they searched for him.

Andrew Vahey, 24, died on a hiking trail in Letchworth State Park as police closed in as part of a manhunt involving numerous law enforcement agencies along the Genesee River, Irondequoit Police Chief Scott Peters said at an evening news conference.

Vahey was wanted in the shooting death of his grandfather, Joseph Deponceau, who was killed earlier that day. Deponceau’s body was found by police in his Irondequoit home responding to a 911 call, Peters said.

Vahey’s roommate told police he had received text messages from Vahey “saying he had just killed his grandfather and was now going to commit suicide,” Peters said.

Police officers spotted Vahey in the park around 12:30 p.m. with a long gun and tried to make contact with him, but he immediately turned the gun on himself, the police chief said.

He said Vahey and Deponceau had recently been arguing over a property, and last week officers were called to Deponceau’s home because of a family dispute over parking on the lawn.