Chicago triple murder suspect killed by self-inflicted wound: police

By Suzannah Gonzales

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Chicago man suspected of shooting three people to death, including the mother of one of his children, took his own life after an 11-hour standoff with police, authorities said on Thursday.

Kevin Robinson, 29, was found dead in a second-floor bedroom on Chicago's South Side shortly after 3 p.m. local time, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and a gun in his hand, Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a phone interview.

Police took up positions around the house and threw gas canisters into the home to force Robinson out, Guglielmi said. His mother and sister, who were outside, also pleaded with him to surrender, Guglielmi added.

At about 9:30 a.m., Robinson leaned out of a second-floor window and fired about 12 shots at police, who returned fire, Guglielmi said.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said at a news conference it was unclear if police had also shot Robinson.

Guglielmi said police believe Robinson had killed three people who were found with gunshot wounds late on Wednesday night in a house about five miles away.

The victims were Makeesha Starks, 26; Jerome Wright, 50; and Kiara Kinard, 26, Cook County Medical Examiner's office spokeswoman Becky Schlikerman said in an email.

Starks was the mother of at least one of Robinson's children, Guglielmi said. Police did not know the motive for the shootings, he added.

Starks and Wright were shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, the Chicago Tribune reported. Kinard was shot in the back and was taken to a local hospital where she died, the newspaper said.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales and Justin Madden; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Richard Chang)