A man who was wanted for questioning in connection to a murder yesterday in Rohnert Park holed himself up in an apartment building at Post and Hyde tonight. After being approached by police he began firing shots apparently at random, outside the building, and he ended up in a standoff with police. No injuries were reported.
(Also, Bay City News chose to call this neighborhood Lower Nob Hill, but we're calling it the Tenderloin.)
The man is a person of interest in a Rohnert Park homicide, and at least one reporter has suggested that the man is the son of the female murder victim. The building that the man is in has been evacuated and Post Street between Hyde and Leavenworth has been closed off, snarling some traffic. The suspect is said to be barricaded in his own apartment, and it's unclear how many shots were fired, and where. News helicopters are circling. We'll update you if we learn more.
Update: ABC 7 reports that the man, who still has not been identified, is dead. It's not clear if he died by his own hand. The apartment may have belonged to a girlfriend. The age of the suspect or his relationship to the murder victim yesterday are still not known.
Update 2: The Chron reports that the deceased was "neutralized" by police after he became a threat to public safety. Police knocked on the door of the apartment which belonged to his girlfriend around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, and after the girlfriend opened the door he began firing shots. He then set things in the apartment on fire, and began firing shots at random through walls and floors. After a one-hour standoff police were later able to get a clear shot and killed him. He was wanted in connection to the murder of 66-year-old Dianne Hughes, who was beaten to death and found in her home on Tuesday. It was unclear how long she had been dead, but her car had gone missing and friends and family had not heard from her for several days. [Chron]
Update 3: This is not for the faint of heart, but here's a photo of the man's blood coming out of the rear apartment window where he was apparently shot by police. Also, KTVU has identified the man as 41-year-old Dennis Hughes, who resided in the Rohnert Park home where his mother was killed, and who had not been seen since the discovery of her body.
