WASHINGTON, July 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a market leader in advanced electronic control devices released the following News Alert:
According to reports from The Advocate in Connecticut, a man with a gun managed to bring Stamford rush hour traffic to a halt Tuesday evening, sparking a chase that involved nearly two dozen police officers. Police said the chase "caused near-hysteria as pedestrians and commuters dropped to the ground or fled."
The incident began at Woodside Green condominium complex, where shots were reportedly fired around 5:43 p.m. and a green Oldsmobile fled the scene. Police spotted the car on Washington Boulevard and a chase ensued. The gunman then abandoned the car south of the bus station and ran through the terminal on foot, still carrying his weapon.
"People were on the ground inside the bus shelter," said Lt. Sean Cooney. "There were ladies shaking. There was a guy on the floor. It was a mess."
Police chased the suspect through the terminal with guns drawn, eventually surrounded the man who turned his .38-caliber Beretta on himself and shouted at police to kill him. Instead, an officer who had taken cover behind a car crept up next to the man and subdued the suspect with a TASER electronic control device.
Officials are calling this a "classic suicide by cop" circumstance in which a suicidal person puts themselves in a situation where police are forced to use deadly force, said Cooney.
The man was transported to the Stamford hospital for psychiatric evaluation. No witnesses were injured during the chase.
This information was compiled through publicly available media reports and distributed by Dittus Communications, Inc. of Washington, D.C.
TASER International, Inc. and Dittus Communications, Inc. disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy of the media reports that are the sole responsibility of the attributed media source.
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