Standoff with armed suspect on Highway 91 in Anaheim ends in fatal shooting

An hours-long standoff between an armed pursuit suspect and police that led to a complete closure of Highway 91 in Anaheim on Friday ended around noon when the suspect lay on the roadway with a fatal gunshot wound.

The eastbound lanes of the 91 Freeway at Imperial Highway reopened a short time later. However, the westbound lanes remained closed until 3:38 p.m. while police conducted their investigation.

According to Corona police, the suspect committed suicide.

The standoff followed a police chase as the driver was wanted for an armed stalking incident in Corona around 8 a.m. The suspect lured police onto Highway 91, shutting it down and causing a traffic jam for miles before drivers began turning around and driving in the wrong direction to escape.

For hours, the suspect sat in a blue sedan, wedged between two black police vehicles in the middle of the highway. Caltrans announced the highway closure at 9 a.m., and the standoff lasted until around noon.

A crisis negotiation team from the Corona Police Department communicated with the suspect via cell phone because he was considered armed and dangerous.

The highway closure extended from the intersection of Highway 91 and Highway 55 to the area around the Lakeview Avenue exit on Highway 91, Caltrans officials said shortly before 9 a.m.

Around 10 a.m., some people stuck in traffic began turning around, and by 11 a.m. the highway was largely empty. The California Highway Patrol helped drivers exit the closed highway, authorities said.

More than a dozen police officers were involved in the police operation, some of them with guns pointed at the car, as well as two dog teams.

Two elementary schools in the area — Orange Unified Pre-K and Crescent Elementary School — have imposed a curfew due to the incident, school officials said. At Orange Unified, parents and buses were able to pick up students early.

Between 9 and 10 a.m., aerial photographs showed cars crowded together on the highway behind at least a dozen patrol cars.

CHP confirmed the end of a chase and a subsequent criminal investigation led to the closure.

At one point in the traffic jam, there appeared to have been a traffic accident as a semi-trailer truck was parked horizontally on the highway.

“Please avoid the area and drive with caution,” said a Caltrans traffic alert.

Caltrans provides real-time traffic information to drivers via a map found here.

Mark Liu contributed to this report.