Pursuit Ends With Man Crashing Vehicle, Then Shooting Himself

A Sunday morning police chase ended with a suspect dead inside a vehicle police said he stole in a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood.

The chase woke people up in the area of Northwest 41st Street and North Drexel Boulevard before 5 a.m. Sunday. Officers said the suspect stole someone's car which set off a wild series of events.

“This neighborhood is usually pretty quit,” neighbor Jeremiah Hicks said. “Then, for something like that to happen right as you’re getting ready to go to sleep, it’s definitely kind of crazy.”

Officers received a call of a stolen vehicle at an apartment complex near Northwest 41st and Drexel just before 1 a.m.

“Officers arrived on scene and a short time later while they were getting information from the victim the vehicle drove past the scene again.” OCPD Lt. Dennis Layden said.

Police then began pursuing the suspect. The driver eventually crashed into a parked car on the side of the street, not quite a half-mile from where the chase started. 

One neighbor said the car ended up in her front yard.

“It completely pushed the brush pile from October into my yard and car pieces there, so that was extremely scary,” resident Nora Blackwell said.

The driver didn't leave his vehicle as police swarmed the scene.

“They had machine guns and the shields and everything,” resident Jake Gumm said.

Police tried to get the man to surrender, but officers said he declined.

“While the officers were trying to make contact with the driver, trying to call the driver out, they heard a gunshot,” Layden said.

When officers stormed the car, they found the driver dead by suicide.