Armed robber shoots himself in the head while running from officers Wednesday evening

On Wednesday, December 21st, 2022, at 5:43 pm, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported armed robbery that had just occurred at Lander Mart, 445 Lander Ave, Turlock.

It’s unclear at this point how exactly the robbery occurred, however, the suspect was described as a thin black man standing about six feet two inches tall, wearing a dark hoodie with the hood up, a black facemask, black pants, and black shoes. The gun used was described as a nickel-plated semi-automatic handgun and preliminary information indicated that about $800 cash was taken.

As officers were checking the area for the suspect, one of them spotted a man matching his description near the intersection of S Broadway and B St. The man began running from the officer when he spotted him and the officer noticed that he had a gun in his hand.

The man eventually ran into a house in the 300 block of S Broadway, however, was spotted by an assisting officer running out the back less than a minute later and beginning to jump fences making his way southbound.

The man eventually jumped a fence into the alleyway between S Broadway and Third St just north of C St, where he was met by the officer who had originally spotted him. The officer chased the man on foot as he held the gun to his own head and brandished it at officers at one point.

Officers gave the man several orders to stop, however, he failed to comply. The man began making his way southbound on S First St and officers planned to intercept him at W F St before he could make it to the market just down the road, however, prior to arriving at the intersection he shot himself and went down.

Officers formulated a plan and approached the man a few minutes later, finding him with a single gunshot wound to his head and no pulse. Officers immediately began life-saving efforts and were relieved by the Turlock Fire Department and American Medical Response shortly later.

The man was ground transported by American Medical Response to a local hospital. His current condition and identity remain unknown.

S First St was closed between D St and W F St for about two hours while officers processed the scene. A 9mm SIG SAUER handgun which matched the description of the one used in the robbery was recovered.

The investigation remains ongoing, anyone with information that could assist in it is encouraged to call Officer Gavin Allison at 209-668-1200.