Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Man in earlier SWAT standoff kills self


Publication Date: 05/27/09

A man accused of breaking into his estranged wife's apartment earlier in the month and holding SWAT officers at bay for almost five hours broke in a second time Monday and killed himself, Amarillo police said.

Police said the man, whose name was not released, broke into an apartment in the 400 block of South Coulter Street about 2:20 p.m. Monday and refused to leave.

The same man, disguised as a flower-delivery man, forced his way into the same apartment May 7 - that time armed with a rifle - and refused to leave, forcing a SWAT response. About five hours later, he surrendered and was taken to the hospital for evaluation. The man's estranged wife declined to press charges. An official at the time said the man was suicidal.

Officers responding to Monday's break-in said they spoke with the man, but he refused to leave. When officers entered the apartment to search for him, they heard a muffled gunshot from a locked bedroom, police said.

Officers forced their way in and found the man dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, they said.

- Globe-News staff

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