The man found dead outside his burning Buford home Tuesday morning intentionally set the fire before shooting himself in the head, officials said Wednesday.
Firefighters responded to 4100 block of Bradford Walk Trail around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday after a neighbor called 911. As smoke loomed and flames ripped through the two-story home, fire crews found the the dead man in the backyard and alerted police.
The man had both fire-related injuries and a gunshot wound, officials said, but a spokesman for the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Wednesday that he died from the latter. A weapon was found not far from the body.
The method used to start the fire "is still largely unknown," Gwinnett County fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said Wednesday.
"Yesterday, fire investigators collected samples from inside the house to send to the crime lab for testing to identify whether an accelerant was used to spark the blaze," Rutledge said.
The Red Cross was contacted to assist the man's surviving family members.
