STANDOFF WITH ROBBERY SUSPECT OUTSIDE HOSPITAL ENDS IN SUICIDE

Police said man, who had holed up inside his SUV near Rady Children’s, shot himself

SAN DIEGO

A standoff between police and a robbery suspect who led officers on a chase from Riverside County before parking in front of Rady Children’s Hospital came to an end early Thursday when the man took his own life.

The man, who had holed up inside his SUV for more than seven hours in front of the hospital, shot and killed himself around 4:30 a.m., a police spokesman said.

Police said the man was suspected of robbing a bank before leading officers on a chase that ended in San Diego around 9 p.m. In the early stages of the pursuit, the suspect called 911, spoke to dispatchers and a crisis negotiator and threatened to kill himself, police said.

The hospital put out a statement early Thursday thanking law enforcement officers for “keeping our campus safe” and telling the public it had reopened.

“Rady Children’s would like to reassure families that the Hospital is safe, secure and open for business. Access has been restored to the main campus, including the emergency department. Scheduled surgeries and clinics will continue, and parents should keep their appointments,” the statement said.

The incident began when the man

was suspected of robbing a Provident Bank branch on Van Buren Boulevard a few minutes before 6 p.m. He was reportedly wearing a mask and toting a firearm, said Riverside police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback.

About 15 minutes later, Riverside officers and sheriff’s deputies spotted the man’s SUV on Interstate 215 and began chasing the vehicle south onto Interstate 15, Railsback said.

Around the county line, San Diego sheriff ’s deputies took over the chase, a sheriff’s official said. That included an ASTREA helicopter that followed the vehicle from above. California Highway Patrol officers were also involved, according to Riverside police. San Diego police took over the chase when it moved into city limits.

According to multiple reports, law enforcement successfully used spike strips to flatten at least three of the SUV’S tires, and the final stages of the chase occurred at speeds about 20 to 30 mph.

Officers shut down roads around the hospital and evacuated certain parts of the facility, including the emergency department, during the standoff.

A San Diego police SWAT team had the SUV surrounded directly outside the doors of the Sam and Rose Stein Emergency Center along Children’s Way in San Diego’s Birdland neighborhood.

Footage from CBS News 8 showed the man appeared to be wearing a pillow-case like covering over his head. At times he sat still inside the SUV with his head resting against the steering wheel; at other times he acted erratically, turning the windshield wipers on and off while rolling the driver’s side window up and down.

At one point, officers observing the man reported he was holding a revolver under his chin, according to police radio traffic. A little before 10 p.m., about an hour after the standoff began, officers reported over the radio that about a dozen people were hunkered in a bathroom of the emergency department. About 15 minutes later, officers were able to safely evacuate those people from the building.