The dean of the Nova Southeastern University medical school, despondent about personal problems, shot himself to death in his car on a Hallandale street after police spent 20 minutes trying to calm him.
Dr. Matthew A. Terry, 48, who was in charge of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, died in the 2200 block of Atlantic Shores Boulevard from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Terry was stopped by police late on Friday as a suspected hit-and-run driver, then he pulled a snub-nosed .38-caliber revolver from his pants pocket and pointed it at his chest while officers tried to talk him out of shooting himself.
Terry was in charge of the 600-student medical school. His father, Dr. Morton Terry, is chancellor of the medical school.
Police said Matthew Terry had been despondent about personal issues, but would not elaborate. A woman who answered the phone at Terry’s home on the Diplomat Parkway in Hallandale declined to be interviewed.
Andrew Casper, spokesman for Hallandale police, said he did not know what Terry had talked about with officers while he had a gun pointed at his chest.
“He was distraught,” Casper said. “The officer talked to him and tried to calm him for 20 minutes. He then shot himself.”
Just an hour and a half earlier, Terry and his wife, Tamara, had left a $250-a-plate fund-raising dinner at the Marriott Harbor Beach Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The beneficiary of the event was the Nova Southeastern Baudhuin Oral School, a center for autistic children.
“They were networking, they were talking to everybody, they were laughing and seemed to be having fun. Its shocking,” said Rob Seitz, the director of public affairs for the school.
Seitz said he saw the Terrys leave the party at 10:30 p.m.
About 11:30 p.m. Friday, an officer responding to an accident in the 1400 block of Atlantic Shores Boulevard found no accident but saw a car with front-end damage leaving the scene and traveling east. The car horn, apparently stuck, was blowing as the car traveled along Atlantic Shores Boulevard through a residential neighborhood, less than a mile from Terry’s home.
“Officers assumed it was a hit and run,” Casper said.
Officer Labriola _ police refused to give his first name _ followed the car for eight blocks, pulling it over in the 2200 block of Atlantic Shores Boulevard. Terry was alone in the car.
“When Officer Labriola asked for his registration, Dr. Terry pulled a snub-nosed revolver from his pants pocket and held it to his chest,” Casper said.
Labriola and other officers tried to soothe Terry. But after 20 minutes, he shot himself. Hallandale Emergency Medical Technicians pronounced him dead at the scene.
Seitz described Ovid Lewis, Nova Southeastern president, as “shocked and saddened.” Lewis ordered the flags on the Davie campus to be flown at half-staff until after the funeral.
A year ago, the medical school opened a $40 million, six-story futuristic laboratory and classroom building on University Drive in Davie.
Terry was trained in osteopathic medicine at Michigan State University and became a specialist in family medicine. It was an interest he maintained throughout his life.
He joined Southeastern University in North Miami Beach in 1981 as an administrator, and emphasized the training of family physicians. He was the chairman of the Department of Family Medicine and the associate dean for academic affairs, before being named dean of the school in 1991.
In 1994, the school merged with Nova University and moved its campus to Davie. Terry remained dean of the medical school, promoting the education of family medicine to address a shortage of primary care physicians. Under his leadership, the college’s family physician program was sharpened, with required courses in minority, geriatric and rural medicine.
The College of Osteopathic Medicine recently became a partner with Florida’s three other medical schools in a statewide program to address the needs of medically underserved rural and minority patients.
Nova Southeastern will open a special telephone line on Monday, where grief counseling will be available to students, faculty and staff. The number is 954-262-1501.
Terry is survived by his wife, Tamara; his parents, Dr. Morton Terry and Geraldine Terry; and his children, Aaron, Jason and Jennifer. Services are being handled by Levitt Weinstein in North Miami Beach. Details have not yet been announced.
