Anthony Lightfoot '92 was found dead the morning of Jan. 12 in a skyscraper in Seattle, Wash. Bill McClury of the Seattle Medical Examiner's Office said Lightfoot, 25, shot himself in the head with a rifle.
Lightfoot was not enrolled at the College at the time.
McClury said a security guard found Lightfoot's body in Seattle's tallest edifice, the Columbia Tower Building, at 12:45 the morning of Jan. 12.
The coroner's office placed the time of death at 11:00 p.m.
McClury said Lightfoot's body was found on the stairwell between the fifth and sixth basement floors.
Russ McNeill, a private security officer for the Columbia Tower, said the subterranean floors where Lightfoot's body was found housed parking garages.
McClury said Lightfoot had several boxes of ammunition with him at the time.
He said Lightfoot purchased the firearm, a .22-caliber Remington model M522 semi-automatic rifle on the day of his death.
Before killing himself, Lightfoot fired three rounds into the walls of a men's bathroom in the basement of the building, McClury said.
Gonzalo Lira '95 said Lightfoot had some psychological problems which got him into trouble, but "he was incredibly bright and knowledgeable ... a pretty cool guy."
Lira said he and Lightfoot had been friends since living in the same floor in Topliff Hall the summer of 1994. Lira said he has been the only person from Dartmouth who spoke to Lightfoot since his departure from Hanover.
Government Professor Mlada Bukovansky previously told The Dartmouth she had him in one of her classes and he was "a really excellent student" and received an A in her class."I found him to be a very conscientious, hard working student," she said.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said yesterday he thought Lightfoot was troubled.
"I did not know Anthony well," Pelton said. But Pelton said he found him to be "a troubled young man, who apparently sought his way out as a way of finding peace for himself."
Lightfoot was a government major, a member of Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, a contributing columnist to the Dartmouth Review, a member of Aquinas House and a drill instructor for the College's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, according to a press release from the College News Service.
The Dartmouth Review is a conservative off-campus weekly publication.
Scott Simon '97 said he was in the same Chi Gam pledge group as Lightfoot last Winter term. Simon said he did not know Lightfoot very well, but learned about some of Lightfoot's traits.
"He was a very, very different person," Simon said. "A little eccentric."
Simon said Lightfoot not only carried a large knife with him, but also would say things or write electronic-mail messages with "a lot of military connotations" which pertained to his service in the Gulf War.
After his suspension, Lightfoot returned to his home in Seattle and found a job working for Pier 1, according to Lira.
Lira said Pier 1 Imports fired Lightfoot from his job within the middle echelons of the corporation's management early this year, an event which Lira said was "the straw that broke the camel's back."
Lightfoot's superiors apparently learned about Lightfoot's past problems at Dartmouth and summarily fired him, Lira said.
Lightfoot's suicide may be related to tumultuous incidents at the College and his recent termination from employment, Lira said.
Last September, Lightfoot pled guilty in a U.S. District Court in Concord to violating the civil rights of Morris Whitaker, the treasurer of the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association. The court sentenced him to five years of probation and imposed fines on him.
Lightfoot, who is part black, part Native American and part white, plead guilty to mailing a letter to Whitaker in which he threatened to lynch Whitaker and rape his wife, according to the Associated Press in September.
Lightfoot allegedly wrote the letter because he was upset that the Black Alumni Association had sent him mail, according to the AP.
Judge James Muirhead ordered Lightfoot to sell his assault weapon and to participate in counseling and mental health programming.
The Dean of the College's Office suspended Lightfoot last April when a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The College's press release stated that Lightfoot served in the U.S. Army from September 1991 until he honorably discharged in May 1994. The Gulf War ended on Feb. 28, 1991.
Lightfoot is survived by his mother, Ann Lightfoot of Lynnwood, Wash., and his grandparents, according to the press release. Ann Lightfoot declined to comment.
Lira said Lightfoot's funeral will be held this Friday at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Ore.
Lightfoot's death marks the fifth suicide associated with Dartmouth in a two-year period.
Since last July, Philip Deloria '96, Sarah Devens '96 and Marcus Rice '94 committed suicide. Dan Boyer '94 killed himself two years ago.
