KALAMAZOO, Mich. (July 1, 2014) — A suspect shot himself after leading police on a two-county chase.
The suspect was taken to the hospital, where he died of the self-inflicted gunshot wound.
County deputies had been called to a home on East Y Avenue around 2:30 a.m. on July 1 in Kalamazoo for a report of a domestic assault. Reports showed that the suspect had a baseball bat and was threatening to assault multiple people. The suspect left the home when police arrived. A local broadcast was then requested to check on the suspect, because he made comments threatening to harm himself and others.
Then, around 3:40 a.m., dispatch received a 911 call indicating that the suspect returned to the home and threatened to drive his car into it, injuring family members. While deputies were on their way back to the home, the suspect had broken a window and forced his way into the house. Before deputies got there, shots were fired in the home.
When deputies arrived, the suspect drove through the yard with a handgun he got from inside the home during an altercation.
The suspect led police from multiple agencies into St. Joseph County and back into Kalamazoo County. The chase went through Prairie Ronde Township where the vehicle crashed on YZ Avenue near 4th Street. That was when the suspect shot himself in the head. Officers performed CPR and the suspect was taken to an area hospital where he eventually died from his injuries.
