14-year-old Sherman's death ruled intentional Green Bay police remain at the Ray Sherman residence at 912 Green Ridge Drive Monday morning (photo by H. Marc Larson). Son of Packers' assistant coach Raymond Sherman died Sunday By Jessica La Plante News-Chronicle Only a week after students and faculty at Lombardi Middle School applauded the performance of Raymond Sherman Jr. in the school's talent show, they now find themselves mourning the death of one of the eighth grade's brightest stars. Early Monday morning, Lombardi faculty issued a special announcement to students that the son of Green Bay Packers, assistant coach Raymond Sherman Sr. had died the previous evening. At about 5:40 p.m. Sunday, rescue workers responded to 9-1-1 reports of a 14-year-old boy who had shot himself in his family's garage, said Lt. Jim Arts of the Green Bay Police Department. The boy's family, including both parents and two siblings, were home at the time the incident occurred, but did not hear a gun go off, Arts said. After talking with the victim's family, police learned the younger Sherman had been alone in the garage for only about 10 minutes when he shot himself in the head. During that brief time, the younger Sherman had grabbed his father's .38-caliber Magnum handgun out of a duffel bag he found lying in the garage and inflicted the fatal injury. The results of an autopsy performed Monday combined with police evidence led authorities to believe the death was a suicide, said Brown County interim Medical Examiner Al Klimek. Klimek said the angle of the wound was consistent with an intentional shooting. "Everything supports an intentional act versus an accidental act. A person has to go through several steps to obtain a weapon, load the weapon and discharge it," he said. Klimek said the reason why the shooting was initially considered accidental is because the younger Sherman did not express any intention to kill himself before it happened. From his personal experience with the victim as a youth football coach, Arts said he felt an act of suicide was out of character for the 14-year-old athlete. "From every indication, he was a very happy, bright young kid involved in a lot of different activities and well-liked by staff, family and friends," Arts said. At a press conference Monday, school administrators voiced an equally high opinion of their late pupil. "One of the things about Ray is he would always stand up for the underdog Š he was really a friend to all students," said Nancy Croy, principal of Lombardi Middle School. More than being respected as the son of a Green Bay Packer's coach, the younger Sherman earned the admiration of his peers by playing a leading role in many school activities, ranging from football and basketball to the school's talent show. To help students and teachers deal with the sudden loss, school officials have assembled a team of counselors and volunteers to stand by throughout he crisis. Social workers from other Green Bay schools, as well as Brown County's Family Services, were mobilized in the crisis-response effort. Croy said students who are experiencing loss for the first time took the news particularly hard. "It's very upsetting Š there's lots of different types of emotions being displayed that you would expect at this age," Croy said. And students weren't the only ones who needed an emotional timeout. To give faculty members a chance to recuperate, volunteers were called in Monday to announce the news to students. "We gave the teachers a safety net if they felt they would not be able to address the students," Croy said. "I know in a couple instances, that was the choice." Croy said Lombardi Middle School will continue to make counseling services available to students and faculty members for as long as the need exists.