Fleeing Kenwood shooting suspect wounded by self-inflicted gunshot, authorities say

Default deck is Deck_Story13 xyx yxyxyx yxyxyxy yxyx yyxyyxy yxyxy xyxyxyx|

A man suspected of taking part in a shooting outside Kenwood Friday afternoon apparently shot himself in the head as he fled from officers who pulled him over after the incident, according to authorities.

The pursuit and its aftermath caused a large backup in traffic on Santa Rosa's eastern outskirts along Highway 12 during the evening commute hours.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call at 2:27 p.m. Friday from a resident reporting that a man had been shot at a home in the 2000 block of Adobe Canyon Road, Lt. Al Vernon said.

The suspect was reported to have left the home in a dark Nissan Pathfinder, Vernon said.

As paramedics from the Kenwood Fire Protection District were driving up Adobe Canyon Road, they spotted a black SUV driving toward Highway 12 and reported it, said Daren Bellach, assistant chief of the district.

They continued to the home, about a mile up a narrow dirt road off Adobe Canyon Road, and administered medical aid to a man with several gunshot wounds, Bellach said. The man was conscious at the time and stable when he arrived at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Bellach said. The victim's name was not released.

A Santa Rosa police officer and a sheriff's deputy later spotted in a vehicle a man matching the suspect's description near the intersection of Melita Road and Highway 12, and pulled him over, Vernon said.

The suspect pulled over on Melita Road near Susan Lane, a short distance from Highway 12, and was ordered out of the SUV at gunpoint, Vernon said.

As the man got out of the vehicle, the deputy clearly saw he had a handgun in his right hand, Vernon said.

The deputy and Santa Rosa officer ordered the man drop the weapon and get on the ground, but he did not comply, Vernon said. The man did not point the gun at officers, he said.

“He was very agitated and he failed to comply with their verbal commands,” Vernon said.

Instead, the suspect got back in the SUV and began driving down Melita Road at a slow speed, and the officers followed. A few moments later, “our deputy heard what he described as a popping sound which he assumed to be a gunshot,” Vernon said.

The SUV veered off the road, down an embankment, through some vegetation and crashed into a house, Vernon said. It wasn't a powerful collision, but it was enough to trigger the SUV's airbags, he said.

The deputy and officer approached and saw the suspect was slumped over in his seat with a gunshot to the right side of his head, Vernon said.

The officers started medical aid for the man, and he was alive when paramedics took him to a local hospital, Vernon said.

A handgun was recovered from the SUV, he said.

The incident is under investigation by the Sheriff's Office, and Melita Road was closed Friday evening to through traffic and members of the media between Los Alamos Road and Highway 12.

Vernon would not say what part the suspect played in the initial shooting or what connection he had with the victim. The suspect was not named Friday and his condition was unavailable.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.