WASHINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Police interrupted a suicide attempt by a man who threatened to ignite more than 100 gallons of gasoline he had released from pumps at the gas station where he worked.
Kent Harker, 45, who had worked at the westside station for about a year but said he was having personal problems unrelated to his job, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Vincennes for a mental evaluation, Washington Police Chief Mike Healy said.
``Charges are pending,'' Healy said Thursday. ``The main thing is we talked him out so nobody got hurt, him or us.''
Police Capt. Tim Guy and Sgt. John Lagle were on routine patrol Wednesday night in Washington, about 50 miles northeast of Evansville, when they saw someone standing near the front door of the gas station. Moving closer, they saw the nozzles had been removed from the pumps and gasoline was spilling onto the ground. As the officers approached, Harker ran out, holding a lit cigarette lighter above his head.
``He told us to get back,'' Guy said. ``He said, 'I'm going to blow this up.'''
The officers called for backup and Guy was able to contact Harker by telephone in the station. They talked about 45 minutes before Harker surrendered to officers.
``It could have been a lot worse than it was,'' Healy said. ``Tim had a rapport set up with him and you're taught that if the rapport is established, don't break that.''
Firefighters used foam to absorb most of the 138 gallons of gasoline that had spilled.
