Man kills self after shooting at police

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Miami-Dade Police have confirmed a man wanted for firing at an officer is dead after he shot himself.

Police confirmed Gregory Wright killed himself after holding his girlfriend hostage and three children and standing off with police, sometime early Monday afternoon. He would release one of those children before he turned the gun on himself, police said.

Authorities found Wright after setting up a large perimeter in the area of Southwest 280th Street and US 1, even locking down the South Dade Skill Center, located nearby. They would find Wright inside a home of a relative in the area.

In that home was his girlfriend and two children and a baby; ages 9, 2 and 2 months. "Our hostage negotiator responded to the scene, had an open line of communication with him," said Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta.

He released the eldest child before police gained access to the home to find Wright dead. Jones and the other children were found unharmed.

Witnesses had reported seeing Wright kidnapping his girlfriend before firing a gunshot at an officer. "He had fled on foot with Mrs. Bernita Jones as a hostage," explained Miami-Dade Police Lt. Rosanna Cordero-Stutz.

According to police, it all began around 7:30 a.m., when an off-duty West Miami Police officer driving down US 1 saw suspicious activity. At that point, police said, Wright opened fire. "That officer was shot at. She was in her vehicle at the time of the shooting, she did return fire," said Cordero-Stutz. "The specifics of where they were exactly at the time of the shooting at this time are unknown."

The police officer was not injured.

Mary Parks, the suspect's mother, was distraught about Wright's death. "My son, he's a good child," she said. "Everybody falls short sometime, but he's a good child. He's never had a daddy-father in his whole life. I was a daddy and a momma, working 16 hours a day, two jobs, for my six kids."

According to Miami-Dade Police there was a history of violence between this girlfriend and boyfriend.

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