SHOCK has gripped the firearms industry following the suspected suicide of Windhoek-based gunshop owner Sven Ahrens.
The police reported that Ahrens’ body was found by a newspaper delivery man a few metres from his home in Finckenstein on the eastern outskirts of Windhoek at about 05h00 yesterday. He shot himself with his own licensed 9mm pistol, and left a note addressed to his wife.
Ahrens was 42-years-old, and the owner of Ahrens Guns & Ammunition in Windhoek.
Saying they lost a great pillar of support, the chairperson of the Namibian Practical Shooting Association and owner of Tactical Sports, Rico Viljoen, yesterday said Ahrens’ death is a great loss to not only the association, but also to the sport of shooting.
He added that although Ahrens was not an active member, he had joined the association in order to support it.
“He will be dearly missed,” said Viljoen.
Former chairperson of the same association, Jorm Schmidt-Bumont, said Ahrens will be missed as a person in shooting circles, and also as a great supporter of the shooting sports.
“It is with great sadness that I hear this news. He will be greatly missed,” Schmidt-Bumont stated.
Echoeing Viljoen and Schmidt-Bumont’s sentiments, Lauren Nesenberend of the Namibian Hunting Rifle Shooting Association said Ahrens’ death is a great loss not only in the shooting circles, but to the whole nation.
“He will remembered as someone you could always rely on, and would do anything to promote the sport of shooting,” Nesenberend added.
Ahrens is a brother of Namibian trap shooter Gaby Ahrens, who recently represented the country at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Apart from being respected for his expertise on guns, he was also actively involved in the sport of shooting, where he was said to give support through sponsorships and in kind.
Ahrens represented Namibia in the second Namibian Hunting Rifle Shooting Association world games.
His father, Hasso Ahrens, is also known in shooting circles, and recently accompanied Gaby Ahrens to Rio.
The Namibian could not get hold of any of his family members by the time of going to print.
The contents of the suicide note have not been made public by the police.
