SANTA MONICA—On Wednesday, November 25, a unidentified man shot himself in the head after firing upon a taxi cab.
At around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, the man and his wife were taking a taxi cab home from a date. The taxi driver dropped the couple off at their residence located on the 800 block of Bay Street.
According to reports, the man and the taxi driver began to argue over the price of the cab fare. The man left the cab to go inside his residence to get cash to pay the taxi driver, and upon return had a gun and started firing at the driver. The driver was not harmed during the altercation.
After firing at the taxi cab, the suspect barricaded himself, his wife, their two children both under the age of 3 and the kids babysitter inside the home.
Police responded to reports of shots fired at the residence and spoke with the cab driver upon arrival. A standoff ensued where authorities waited for nearly 30 minutes, before a Santa Monica police dispatcher was contacted by the suspect’s wife. According to reports, the wife told the dispatcher that her husband had shot himself in the head.
The family was evacuated from the house by authorities. The suspect was found inside the residence with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to a hospital and is listed in critical condition.
If suspect recovers, he could be arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The name of the suspect has not yet been released to the public. Authorities are still investigating the case.