Maybe I heard about this when it happened on June 1, 2021. It certainly made the news in southern California. An unidentified gunman walked into a firehouse and shot a firefighter named Tory Carlon who died at the scene. He then shot a fire chief who survived but remains partially paralyzed. The next day the shooter was identified as Jonathan Tatone, a firefighter who worked in the same firehouse with the other two men.

Yesterday the LA Times published a detailed and very well-written story about what led up to the shooting. It turns out that Carlon and Tatone both had the same job and worked on different 24-hour shifts. Carlon was a family man with three daughters. Tatone was frequently angry and didn’t hide his feelings about Carlon.

Fellow firefighters knew Carlon as a calm, easy-going family man. He got along with others and focused on doing his job and getting home to his wife and three daughters. When he was with his family, he painted his daughters’ nails and coached their softball teams.

The problems began…after Tatone started at the station.

Tatone, also an engineer, was Carlon’s opposite. He had a quick temper, once kicking in a door at the fire station because he was angry that he couldn’t find the key, Carlon told his wife.

To his mom, Tatone was “by the book” and a “straight arrow” kind of guy. To his fellow firefighters at Station 81, he had “an aggressive alpha male demeanor” and came across as “a bully.”

By 2019, things had become so tense that Carlon was documenting his interactions with Tatone who became angry at the slightest provocation. For instance, Carlon and a captain in the firehouse moved a television mount from one wall to another but didn’t patch the holes in the wall. Tatone became angry about it and Carlon explained that they didn’t have any spackle at the firehouse and he planned to fix it on his next shift. Tatone also got angry about a missing flashlight. Eventually Tatone told Carlon that he had no respect for him and that the next step would be “fists flying.”

Carlon informed his captain about the problem but no one was reassigned and nothing was done. By December of 2020, Tatone had stopped talking to most of the people at the fire station saying he couldn’t “talk to anyone who supports a Fraudulent employee,” meaning Carlon. Carlon stopped storing his food with the other firefighters, concerned Tatone might tamper with it. He started warning his wife when he was at work but Tatone was not, afraid he might target her.

In the spring of 2021, Tatone tried to get ahead of the burgeoning problem by filing a complaint against Carlon in which he denied making threats and claimed he’d been defamed. Tatone told another station employee that because of his complaint an investigation had been launched and both he and Carlon had been interviewed. He believed at the time that both of them would wind up being transferred.

Meanwhile, Carlon told Captain Atsushi Uyehara that he believed Tatone was going to try to shoot him and kill him. But the captain discounted this, telling investigators later on, “if these were credible threats…Carlon wouldn’t be showing up to work and his wife wouldn’t allow him to continue going to work.”

On June 1, Carlon showed up for his shift at 7 am and relieved Tatone. Tatone left but returned a few hours later. He had left some groceries in the firehouse fridge and said he’d come to retrieve them. He approached Carlon, pulled out a handgun and shot him.

“Payback’s a bitch, motherf—!” Jonathan Tatone said.

A paramedic and another firefighter started to go to Carlon and saw Tatone standing over him with the gun. They hid behind a truck.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you,” Tatone said.

Tatone was steps away from getting in his truck when [Captain Arnoldo] Sandoval opened the screen door and stepped out onto the front porch, drawn outside by the noise. The 54-year-old captain raised his hands in the air and asked what was going on.

Instead of leaving, Tatone turned, aimed and shot Sandoval. Sandoval fell to the ground. He tried to get to safety inside the fire station, afraid Tatone would walk back and shoot him in the head.

Instead, Tatone took off, heading northbound on Sierra Highway.

Tatone drove home and called 911 to report a fire at his house. He then set the house on fire with gasoline and shot himself in the head.

BREAKING: 1 firefighter killed, 1 hurt in shooting at a fire station in northern Los Angeles County https://t.co/OtMrv8AEdG pic.twitter.com/Yr2N1wpiDz

— ABC30 Fresno (@ABC30) June 2, 2021

Knowing that Tatone was the firehouse shooter and not certain if he was still alive inside the burning house, firefighters held back and let it burn rather than risk coming under attack while trying to put it out. Eventually they found Tatone’s body in the wreckage.

Carlon’s daughter graduated high school two days later and wore his jacket when collecting her diploma. Hundreds of first responders came to the graduation.

There was a massive memorial service for Carlon held at the LA Forum:

Southern Division Protective Services had the honor of escorting the family of fallen Firefighter Tory Carlon to his memorial service this morning. Rest In Peace Brother 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/PXc2LFXFRa

— CHP Central Los Angeles (@CHPCentralLA) June 18, 2021

Firefighters from around Southern California fill the Forum for the funeral of LA County Firefighter Tory Carlon. pic.twitter.com/0WlVmGNM6O

— Kris Ankarlo (@KrisAnkarlo) June 17, 2021

Captain Sandoval has filed a lawsuit against the county. He says before the shooting happened he recommended that Tatone be moved but that the county told him it wasn’t necessary. Carlon’s family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county. They county attempted to get the suit dismissed but a judge denied their request in January.

For anyone who may be interested and has the wherewithal, there's a GoFundMe set up for our fallen Brother Tory Carlon.

Brother Carlon leaves a wife and 3 daughters behind.

This is the ONLY Go Fund ME authorized by the Carlon family!

Rest In Peace Toryhttps://t.co/Lgs9P2PaaK

— BunkerGear_Gal (@BunkerGear_Gal) June 2, 2021