UPDATE (11/1/22): Mobile Police identify man who killed himself after standoff on Government Street
UPDATE (10:10 p.m.): Court is expected to continue as normal tomorrow.
UPDATE (5:06 p.m.): Officials confirm the man who shot himself at the end of a more than five-hour standoff in downtown Mobile has died.
A video of our live coverage is below.
UPDATE (3:39 p.m.): Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine gave a statement after the man was taken from the scene and confirmed that the man shot himself in the head.
SWAT rammed the side of the man’s car after the man tried to pull away, but his tires spun out, according to Prine. Police tear gassed the car. The man climbed out of the passenger window and shot himself in the head.
The man was taken to a hospital. His family has been informed. The family told police they do not know why he was there. The man is from the Mobile area.
The standoff lasted about 5 and a half hours. At about 2:40, the man shot from the vehicle, shattering the car’s back window. The man then stepped out of the car and put the gun t his head before getting back into the vehicle.
LOCATION: Outside Government Plaza, 205 Government Street in Mobile, Ala. Government Plaza has several tenants, including the City of Mobile and Mobile County District Court.
RECAP: Mobile Police responded Government Plaza Monday morning in response to a man with a gunshot wound. When police approached a gray Honda, a man wounded inside pointed a gun at officers. SWAT and other law enforcement agencies responded to the scene. A prolonged standoff ensued. Just before 3 p.m., the man shot at officers, shattering the glass of a back window. The man then stepped out of the car and pointed a gun at his head.
Live coverage as the standoff in downtown Mobile ends:
Standoff recap from our 4 p.m. newscast:
UPDATE (3:30 p.m.): Crime scene tape is up. Mobile Police Chief Prine and District Attorney Ashley Rich are there. We anticipate an update shortly.
UPDATE (3:21 p.m.): The man is on the ground, SWAT have surrounded him, medical crews are running up to treat the man.
UPDATE (3:15 p.m.): Mobile SWAT’s armored vehicle rammed the gray Honda. Inside the car, a man who has shot at officers, police confirmed.
UPDATE (3:08 p.m.): Officials have confirmed that the man fired one shot at officers. People located in the parking lot adjacent to Government Plaza have been pushed farther back. Other people in a nearby building have been moved out.
UPDATE (3:02 p.m.): In addition to SWAT officers on foot, the SWAT armored vehicle has moved in on the gray Honda. The man inside is armed with a gun. He has recently shot out the back window of that car and stepped out of the vehicle to point a gun to his own head before getting back inside.
UPDATE (2:55 p.m.): Mobile SWAT have moved closer to the gray Honda. The man inside has a gun. Just a few minutes ago, the man stepped out of the car and put the gun to his head. Prior to stepping out of the car, the man shot through the back window of the car.
UPDATE (2:50 p.m.): The man stepped out of the car and put the gun to his head. We have zoomed out of the scene.
UPDATE (2:45 p.m.): News 5 reporters on the scene report they heard a loud bang and glass shattering. No confirmation from police about the source of the bang. We can see the back passenger window of the car is shattered.
UPDATE (1:54 p.m.): Mobile Public Schools said five downtown area schools are on secure perimeter as standoff continues outside Government Plaza in downtown Mobile.
UPDATE (1:28 p.m.): Mobile Police said the man is incoherent and they are bringing in mental health experts to help at the scene. Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine said they are working to bring the standoff to a peaceful conclusion.
UPDATE (12:47 p.m.): Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine confirmed they know the identity of a man who is currently in a standoff with police in downtown Mobile. The standoff began when Mobile Police approached the vehicle and the man pointed a gun at them.
Prine confirmed the man is injured, but how we became injured and the extent of the man’s injuries are unknown.
Prine said they are “working to get the individual out of the car so we can get him some help.” Prine reiterated that this is not an active shooter situation.
Prine said “the only threat or implied threat” was when the man held a gun to his own head. Prine said the man was not threatening police.
UPDATE (12:12 p.m.): A standoff continues outside Government Plaza in downtown Mobile. SWAT is in a standoff with a man in a car who police said earlier pointing a gun at officers. A robot was used to deliver a cellphone to the man so that officers could communicate with him.
Officers had approached the man in the car because he was suffering from a gunshot wound, police said. That’s when he aimed a gun at police and the standoff began.
SWAT, Mobile Police, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and Mobile Fire-Rescue have all responded to the scene and are massed around Government Plaza.
The Bankhead Tunnel is closed to traffic in both directions.
We do not know if the man’s gunshot wound is self-inflicted. People are being moved out of Government Plaza. Police said the situation is “contained” and not an active shooter situation.
UPDATE (11:51 a.m.): Government Plaza no longer on full lockdown, some people are being let out. Probate Court still on lockdown.
STANDOFF COUNTINUES: A man in a car with a gun and suffering from a gunshot wound is still in a standoff with Mobile Police and SWAT units. An officer with a long gun on top of a SWAT armored vehicle has his gun aimed at the car. Police said when officers first approached the car, the man pointed a gun at officers, and that’s what initiated the standoff.
LOCATION: Standoff is underway outside Government Plaza, 205 Government Street in Mobile, Ala. Government Plaza has several tenants, including the City of Mobile and Mobile County District Court.
UPDATE (11:34 a.m.): Mobile Police said a man showed up across the street from Government Plaza with a gunshot wound. Police said when officers went to help the man, the man pulled a gun on them. That’s when the standoff began.
Police said only one person was in the vehicle. We do not yet know if someone else shot the person or if the gunshot is self-inflicted.
UPDATE (11:26 a.m.): Mobile Police tell us that this is not an active shooter situation. Police said the situation is “contained.” Police are calling this a “standoff.”
UPDATE (11:20 a.m.): Another witness said that she saw a man in a car, a gray Honda, across the street from the courthouse where SWAT, police and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office are massed, positioning units near that car.
The witness said she had been in Government Plaza and was asked to stay away from the windows while she left the building. She said police were moving people away from the scene.
“Crazy,” she said. “I’m 62, and I never expected to see something like this.”
Police, SWAT and Mobile County Sheriff’s still on scene and massed around Government Plaza. The Bankhead Tunnel remains closed.
UPDATE (11:15 a.m.): A witness on the scene who works inside Government Plaza described the scene. She said a security guard instructed people to stay away from the windows. She was told there was a hostage situation and others said they saw a man with a gun to his head.
Government Plaza is on lockdown. The Bankhead Tunnel is shut down in both directions.
Mobile Police, SWAT and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office are all on the scene.
Much of the attention seems to be focused on a car across the street from Government Plaza.
UPDATE (11 a.m.): Police are massed at Government Street in front of Government Plaza. Bankhead Tunnel is closed. WKRG has spotted SWAT on the scene.
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — There is a heavy police presence in downtown Mobile. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office crime map shows units responding to a shooting.
A person who works inside Government Plaza said the building is on lockdown.
In addition to Mobile Police, Mobile Fire-Rescue has units on the scene.