Police say a standoff that started Thursday afternoon on Tallahassee's northwest side ended early this morning with the suspect dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
It happened in the 2900 block of Byington Circle near Huntington Woods Blvd. The Tallahassee Police Department says the State Attorney’s Office asked TPD officers and U.S. Marshalls to assist in arresting 62-year-old Frank Copson after he failed to appear in court yesterday on charges of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child.
Copson barricaded himself in the home with a gun, forcing the evacuation of the surrounding area as a precaution. TPD says officers tried for hours to negotiate a peaceful surrender.
TPD’s Tactical Apprehension and Control Team then got into the house and continued negotiations with Copson as he was barricaded inside a closed bathroom. A few hours later, officers say he shot himself.
