Massachusetts suspect who shot himself during police standoff on I-495 has died: authorities

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A Massachusetts man has died after shooting himself during a standoff with police that shut down I-495 on Tuesday evening.

Anthony Miele, 49, of Quincy, Mass., died just before 11:30 p.m. at Lawrence General Hospital, Massachusetts state police said Wednesday. Miele shot himself while state police negotiators tried to get him to surrender.

The incident began just before 7 p.m. Tuesday when a state police sergeant spotted a BMW occupied by Miele parked outside the Digital Federal Credit Union in Methuen. Police said the vehicle was linked to multiple bank robberies in southeastern Massachusetts.

The sergeant followed Miele as he drove away until a second state trooper’s vehicle arrived to assist with an attempted traffic stop. Miele refused to stop and sped away onto Route 208 south and eventually onto I-495 with two police cruisers on his tail.

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Negotiators talked to the suspect for nearly two hours before he shot himself, police said. (Massachusetts State Police)

After crossing into Andover, police said Miele pulled onto the grassy median on I-495 and stopped around 7:10 p.m.

Troopers witnessed Miele sitting in the stopped car and holding a handgun to his head. Authorities established strategic positions and shut down the roadway for the duration of the incident.

Negotiators engaged in conversation with Miele for nearly two hours to get him to surrender peacefully. Miele at one point threw a ballistics vest and two firearm magazines out of the car, but he maintained possession of the handgun.

At 9:10 p.m., he fired a single and inflicted massive injury to himself, police said. Miele was rushed to Lawrence General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:28 p.m.

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Police said a death investigation clearly established that the suspect committed suicide by gunshot. No officers discharged their weapons or were injured.

Andover is located about 24 miles north of Boston.