Standoff ends with woman dying by suicide, Pharr police say

A 36-year-old woman shot and killed herself after an hours-long standoff by a canal between late Friday evening and early Saturday morning, Pharr police said in a news release.

Police responded to the 3100 block of North Sugar Road near a canal bank at about 10:20 p.m. Friday, where a woman reportedly locked herself inside of her vehicle with a handgun.

“The call was made to 911 by her family members,” police said in the news release.

Authorities determined the woman was alone, backed off, established a perimeter and called the department’s Crisis Negotiation Unit, Special Response Team and Mental Health Unit to the scene.

“At around 12:00 A.M. the female fired a single shot out of her window into the air. Negotiators were able to establish communication with the female and attempted to deescalate the situation for multiple hours,” the release stated.

At 1:45 a.m., she stopped communicating with police.

“Our team had information that she was harming herself, so the Special Response Team acted and found the female with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the release read.

She was transported to DHR Health in Edinburg where she was pronounced dead, police said.

The Texas Rangers are investigating.

“Our collective hearts go to out to the victim’s family during this difficult time,” police said.

The National Suicide Hotline is (800) 273-8255 and its website is https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.