Police standoff with possible shooting suspect on I-80 in Fairfield ends in suicide

A police pursuit of a shooting suspect through the East Bay on I-80 stopped in Fairfield Friday afternoon, sparking an hours-long standoff that closed the highway in both directions before ending darkly .

Aerial footage initially captured the vehicle as it passed through Richmond. Multiple police and CHP units followed the silver Toyota Corolla driven by an alleged shooting suspect on eastbound I-80, through San Pablo, Hercules, Rodeo and Vallejo, slowing down at times for traffic.

The CHP later confirmed the incident originated in the Santa Rosa area Friday morning. Around 11 a.m., the suspect in the car shot at a black SUV while heading south on U.S. Highway 101 in Windsor before heading to Santa Rosa.

The CHP said the vehicle’s window was simply damaged and no injuries were caused. Authorities traced the vehicle’s license plate to the Rohnert Park area. Officers spotted the vehicle in an area near the highway and made contact with the driver before he fled at high speed. around 2 p.m.

The suspect headed south on the 101, traveling at a speed of 65 to 70 miles per hour, the CHP said. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle with a spike strip in Petaluma, but the driver fled. The pursuit moved from Marin County into the East Bay as the car headed east on Highway 37 before turning around and returning to Highway 101 and crossing over onto I-580 eastbound to cross the Richmond Bridge into Richmond.

Around 3:45 p.m., the car finally slowed down and stopped on the highway at the Lopes Road overpass, near Cordelia Junction which connects I-680 to Fairfield. It appears that authorities were able to place spike strips over which the suspect walked.

Authorities stopped eastbound and westbound traffic on I-80, with traffic diverted from the highway to bypass the incident. The transition from northbound I-680 to eastbound and westbound I-80 was also closed. Westbound I-80 traffic is being diverted onto Suisun Valley Rd.

There were nine police units visible with open doors and officers armed with firearms on the highway under the overpass. Authorities appeared to be in conflict with the suspect.

The Fairfield Police Department’s SWAT team arrived on the scene at 5 p.m. and has been trying to convince the suspect to surrender since then, California Highway Patrol Officer Michael Barday said.

Two armored SWAT vehicles converged on the Corolla around 5:50 p.m., boxing in the suspect vehicle. Officers appeared to use some type of gas device near the vehicle around 6:18 p.m.

About 15 minutes later, a dozen officers approached the vehicle and appeared to force entry into one of the rear doors. Shortly after, a man was pulled from the driver’s side backseat and appeared to be incapacitated.

At first, authorities had no word on what happened to the suspect. The CHP later confirmed the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Solano CHP office confirmed at 6:44 p.m. that the westbound lanes of I-80 and the transition from northbound I-680 to eastbound and westbound I-80 were both reopened.

There is no estimated time to reopen eastbound I-80.