Police say Redwood City man killed himself after visiting ex-wife's work

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KGO) -- Police say a domestic dispute in Redwood City started when a man showed up to his ex-wife's office and started threatening her.

RELATED: Domestic dispute in Redwood City ends with one dead

The incident happened Tuesday afternoon on Saginaw Drive just North of Highway 101.

People working at the Seaport Business Centre in Redwood City heard the shooting, but they didn't know it.

"Some kind of fireworks, or a loud noise, that we didn't know what it was," said witness Oliver Rousseau. "Maybe in one of the labs there was a small explosion or something."

Chintan Patel knew it was something serious. "I saw a cop with a gun and they were pointing in that direction and within like five, ten seconds I heard a pop," he said.

Just before 2:30 p.m. Redwood City police got a 911 call from a woman who said her ex-husband had shown up at her workplace and was chasing her with a gun.

"During the time that she's communicating with our radio dispatch, there's a shot that's fired and you can hear on the radio tape," said Redwood City Deputy Police Chief Gary Kirby.

The woman was not hit. Police arrived minutes later and ran after the man, ultimately cornering him. The deputy chief says there was a brief negotiation, but the man pointed his gun at officers.

"There was an exchange of gunfire," Kirby said. "One of our officers fired one round and we believe he discharged a round at himself into his face."

Police say the self-inflicted wound killed the man. It's not clear if the officer's shot also hit him.

According to police, the woman had a restraining order against her ex-husband.

Officers had made contact with him three times this month for domestic violence related issues. At one point, the police confiscated all the weapons registered in his name.