---
title: "USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor dies of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound"
description: "A sailor who was serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Navy officials confirmed on Wednesday"
date: "2020-10-14"
modified: "2020-10-14"
authors:
  - name: "Jeff Schogol"
    job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/theodore-roosevelt-sailor-dies-naval-air-station-north-island/"
categories:
  - "Carriers"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "Navy"
  - "News"
  - "Ships"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
tags:
  - "Covid-19"
  - "death"
  - "indo-pacific command"
---

# USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor dies of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/49919917347_1331c49e53_k-4.jpg>)

A sailor who was serving aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Navy officials confirmed on Wednesday.

"The sailor was pronounced dead by competent medical authorities," said Jay Delarosa, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest. "At the time of the incident, the Sailor was standing security watch on Lima pier at Naval Air Station North Island."

[Navy Times reporter Geoff Ziezulewicz](<https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/10/14/theodore-roosevelt-sailor-dies-of-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound-while-standing-watch-on-pier/>) first revealed that the sailor’s death comes as the aircraft carrier’s crew has been told to [prepare to get underway again](<https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/09/25/a-few-months-after-getting-home-the-theodore-roosevelt-is-about-to-deploy-again/>) only a few months after [returning to San Diego](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/theodore-roosevelt-return-san-diego/>) from a [disastrous deployment](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-theodore-roosevelt-crozier-emails/>), during which 1,273 out of the roughly 5,000 sailors aboard the ship were sickened with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

One crew member died from the disease: [Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr.](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-id-theodore-roosevelt-sailor-died/>)

The Navy has not yet publicly released the sailor’s name pending next of kin notification, said Cmdr. Zachary Harrell, a spokesman for U.S. Naval Air Forces.

Investigators have not yet determined the manner of the sailor’s death, Harrell told Task & Purpose.

“I can confirm \[the Naval Criminal Investigative Service\] is conducting a thorough investigation to determine the facts surrounding the death of the sailor as we do in response to all non-combat, medically unexpected fatalities of Department of the Navy service members," NCIS spokesman Jeff Houston said in a statement. "Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS does not discuss ongoing investigations.”

***Related: [Nearly two-thirds of the Navy's deployable warships have endured COVID-19 outbreaks](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/navy-coronavirus-outbreaks-warships/>)***

## Author
Jeff Schogol is the senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reports on both the Defense Department as a whole as well as individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/jdschogol/>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-schogol-188a9317/>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JeffSchogol>)