A suicidal man shot himself in the head and died about the same time an officer shot him in the shoulder after a brief car chase and a standoff today behind a valley shopping center, Metro Police said.
The incident began about 10:30 a.m. in Henderson when a woman called police and reported that her husband was armed and suicidal, Metro Capt. Kelly McMahill said.
Henderson Police tracked the man’s phone to the 6000 block of West Charleston Boulevard, where Metro officers responded and found the man’s vehicle parked at an auto parts store, McMahill said.
Two officers tried to detain the man, but he sped out of the parking lot, leading police on a chase and causing at least one crash, McMahill said. Assisted by a police helicopter, officers again found the man about 1.5 miles away in an alley behind a shopping center in the 200 block of Jones Boulevard, near U.S. 95, she said.
Officers ordered the man to put down a gun he was holding, McMahill said. “They reiterated over and over again, “Please, do not do this; we’re here to help you,’” she said.
Instead, the man pointed the gun to his head and fired at nearly the same time an officer, reacting to the movement of the gun, fired a round, striking him in the shoulder, McMahill said.
The man, who was only described as about 50 years old, died at the scene from the self-inflicted wound, McMahill said.
McMahill said details were preliminary, as the investigation is in its early stages and police had just informed the man’s family about what happened.
The officer who fired his gun was expected to be placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues, per department policy.
McMahill said the officers involved were upset by the incident. “They wanted this to go a different way, and it just didn’t end up that way today,” she said.