Armed Robbery Suspect Takes Own Life Following Car Chase: COPS

GARDEN GROVE, CA — A car chase that led officers from Garden Grove through Riverside County up the Cajon Pass ended with the driver apparently taking his own life, police said.

The unnamed suspect was allegedly returning multiple firearms taken from a family member in 2017 during a Fullerton burglary, Lt. Carl Whitney of the Garden Grove Police Department said.

When officers arrived to the location at 128000 block of Joy Street, the suspect was "knocking on the back door of that business," Whitney said. Officers approached, and the suspect jumped inside the rental U-Haul pickup truck, still heavily armed.

The chase began, across Garden Grove, up the 241 Toll Road in Orange County, leading officers across the eastbound 91 Freeway to the northbound 215 freeway, California Highway Patrol officer said.

Officers used spike strips about three miles south of Highway 138, disabling the truck's tires and forcing the vehicle to stop on the freeway shoulder, ending the chase just before 6:15 p.m.

He "shot himself as officers surrounded the truck, was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead," Whitney said, adding that CHP will further investigate the shooting.

The suspect's name has not yet been released.

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