By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LULING – A Luling man who attempted to kill himself late Wednesday evening after killing his girlfriend earlier that afternoon remained in critical condition Friday at University Hospital in New Orleans, according to authorities with the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office.

Gary Farrell, 52, a resident of the 700 block of Luling Avenue, shot himself in the head during a standoff with sheriff’s deputies and special response team units at his home Wednesday night, said Capt. Pat Yoes, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

“He indicated to us that he did not want to come out alive,” Yoes said. “Deputies fired tear gas into the building, and that’s when we heard the gunshot. Our remote cameras confirmed that he shot himself in the head.”

Yoes said the standoff, which was resolved about 8:30 p.m., ended a whirlwind for the Sheriff’s Office that began with a 911 call from Farrell in which he said that he killed his girlfriend, 50-year old Ginger Mongrue Allen of Luling.

According to a release from the Sheriff’s Office, Farrell called 911 just before 2 p.m. and said he had killed his girlfriend and left her body in a vehicle at St. Charles Hospital in Luling. Yoes said deputies found Allen’s body lying face down in the back seat of a 1992 tan Lincoln Town Car. He said an autopsy revealed the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Yoes said deputies monitored video surveillance at the hospital and found that Farrell had parked the car in the lot at 12:08 a.m.

Yoes said when the Sheriff’s Office received the call, Farrell had already barricaded himself in a one-room portable building that he had converted into a home. With Farrell holed up in his residence, Yoes said deputies cordoned off the surrounding area. He said about 15 homes surrounding the standoff location were evacuated and school children living in the immediate area were kept at school while parents were notified.

Yoes said deputies and SWAT team members attempted hours of negotiations with Farrell to try and coax him out of the building, but were unsuccessful.

Yoes said Farrel has earlier arrests on domestic battery charges.

Yoes said Farrell had undergone surgery for his wounds Wednesday and Thursday, but it is unclear whether he will survive.