CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Witnesses said a business owner shot and killed himself during a City Council meeting Thursday night after members voted against his request to rezone his property.

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Bo Ward, owner of Bo's Barber Shop, had told the council -- which approved first reading of the zone change last month -- that his business would go under if the change was not granted.

Witnesses said there were about 80 to 100 people at the meeting.

Following the vote Thursday night, Ward approached the council and said, "Ya'll have put me under, I'm done."

Ward then shot himself in the head with a small handgun in front of the council.

Ward had said the rezoning would increase his property value, allowing him to secure a loan to offset debt he incurred when he expanded his shop.

According to The Leaf Chronicle, Ward said last month, "If this (zone change) doesn't go through, I lose my home, I lose my shop, I lose everything I got."

One councilman said he doesn't think anyone could have stopped the man from shooting himself.

Ward had spoken with several council members before Thursday's vote, the newspaper reported, and they said he showed no signs of being suicidal.

"From the first meeting, I knew he was above average in reference to passion," Ward 6 Councilman Marc Harris told the newspaper.

"I knew he was going to wake up in the morning and say, 'What do I do now?'"

There are questions of how a handgun was allowed at the meeting.

"There are signs posted that weapons are not allowed but there was not security or metal detectors in building," said City of Clarksville Spokeswoman Missy Graham.

Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper said the council chambers will not be used again for meetings.

Army Commander Recognizes Business Owner

Ward's small business was often visited by media reporting on the local economic impact when thousands of soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division deployed for Iraq, as they are doing currently.

"He treated soldiers like his own children," said George Heath, a longtime patron of Bo's Barber Shop and the Fort Campbell garrison public affairs officer.

"If a soldier came in and said he needed a haircut but didn't have any money, Bo would cut his hair and tell him to pay him when he could."

Ward told The Leaf-Chronicle in 2004 about a postcard that former Fort Campbell Army post commander, Gen. David Petraeus, sent to him during the division's first deployment to Iraq.

Petraeus thanked Ward for keeping his shop open during the deployment and "giving haircuts to children of our families."

"(The troops) are 5,000 miles away and still thinking about Bo," Ward said while showing the card. "Can you believe it?"

That year his shop near the Army post's gate won a local competition for Christmas lights.

"There aren't many lights out here on the boulevard," Ward said. "A bunch of these guys are away from home. I wanted them to enjoy it here. ... I'll definitely do it again next year."

Petraeus is now the top U.S. military commander in Iraq. His recent testimony before Congress on the progress of the war resulted in political controversy after the liberal group MoveOn.org criticized him with a full-page advertisement in The New York Times.

The current commander of the 101st, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, said Ward was well known by soldiers from generals to privates.

"He was an icon on Fort Campbell; known for his hospitality, warm smile, and engaging conversation," Schloesser said in a statement. "When a soldier got their hair cut by Bo, you got more than just a haircut -- you got a story, a pat on the back, and words of encouragement from a patriotic citizen who genuinely cared about soldiers."

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