Minn. soldier's death last fall was suicide

Maj. Tad T. Hervas
Maj. Tad T. Hervas, 48, of Coon Rapids, Minn., died Oct. 6, 2009, in Basra, Iraq, of a gunshot wound to the head. The military has ruled his death a suicide.
Photo Courtesy of the Minnesota National Guard

The military has ruled the noncombat related death of a Minnesota National Guard soldier in Iraq last October was a suicide.

Maj. Tad Hervas died Oct. 6 at a base in Basra.

A spokesman with the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Command tells The Associated Press in an e-mail Thursday that the investigation found Hervas died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Hervas, 48, was from Coon Rapids and was serving in Iraq with the 34th Infantry Division, known as the Red Bulls. He died just a few days after returning to Basra from a trip home. It was his second tour in Iraq with the National Guard.

Authorities said in October that he died of a gunshot wound to the head, but they did not release how he was shot until now because they were still investigating.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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