Stephen Scherer (February 22, 1989 – October 3, 2010) was a

Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

with the class of 2011 at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

who competed in the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

10 metre air rifle 10 metre air rifle (N.B. For "Meter" in this article – read "Metre") is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot at a bullseye target over a distance of using a calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of . It ...

. As a member of the

Army Black Knights rifle The Army Black Knights are the athletic teams that represent the United States Military Academy, located in West Point, New York. In sports contexts, since 2015, the teams are commonly referred to as Army. The Black Knights compete at the Nationa ...

team, Scherer earned a bronze medal in smallbore and finished in fifth place in

air rifle An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized ''without'' involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases ''chem ...

as a freshman at the 2008 NCAA Rifle Championships. Scherer was only 19 and still a plebe (freshman) at West Point when he qualified for the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

games. Scherer transferred to

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...

after leaving West Point. Stephen's younger sister

Sarah Scherer Sarah Scherer (born February 12, 1991, in Salt Lake City) is an American sports shooter. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, finishing in 7th place at Women's 10 metre air rifle. In the same event in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Jan ...

competed in the 10 metre air rifle of

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Death

Scherer was found dead on October 3, 2010, in his off-campus apartment. The cause of death was ruled to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

References

External links

Team USA profile
Shooters at the 2008 Summer Olympics American male sport shooters Olympic shooters for the United States Army Black Knights athletes Texas Christian University alumni 1989 births 2010 suicides Suicides by firearm in Texas Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts People from Billerica, Massachusetts {{US-sportshooting-bio-stub