NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 14, 2003
7:00 A.M.
Suicide Victim Found Following Hostage Barricade Situation
This morning at approximately 1:30 a.m., members of the Special Operations Team and Hostage Negotiators were called to the 5900 block of Reading Avenue for a report of a subject barricaded inside an apartment.
Police were first notified when they received a call of a man arguing with a woman in front of 5913 Reading Avenue. Investigation revealed that a man and his wife were arguing outside their apartment building when the man displayed a handgun, discharged it and then ran inside the apartment. The female went to a neighbor for help. The apartment that the man entered was occupied by the couples’ two small children, ages 10 and 5, and police learned that an additional shot was fired by the suspect once inside the apartment.
Prior to the entry of the Special Operations Team, a newly acquired mechanical robot was sent into the residence and relayed video to members of the team waiting outside. Officers then entered the apartment and found the suspect, a 39-year-old male, suffering from a fatal self-inflicted gun shot wound.
The children, who were not injured, were taken to their mother who was still on the scene. Police learned that the suspect’s wife had secured a two-year protective restraining order against her husband just last month.
For further information please contact the Public Information office at (703) 838-4636.
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