A speeding, gun-toting motorcyclist fleeing police died early Wednesday when he lost control of his bike and slammed into a fire hydrant, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The incident began about 2 a.m., when the department received a 911 call about a motorcycle rider firing shots in the 12100 block of Sheldon Street in Sun Valley, said LAPD officer Liliana Preciado.

When officers arrived in the area, the suspect fled and they gave chase, she said.

About a minute into the pursuit, the motorcycle was going more than 100 miles per hour, and the officers broke off and turned the chase over to helicopter surveillance.

The suspect lost control of his bike in the 12000 block of Sherman Way in San Fernando, slamming into the hydrant and shearing it off.

The Kawasaki bike ended up about a hundred feet from the impact point and the cyclist, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was found 150 feet from the demolished hydrant.

Officers recovered a gun at the scene, Preciado said.

The victim was identified as Ramon Barrios-Munoz, 19, said Craig Harvey, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

A public-works crew from San Fernando was summoned to shut off the hydrant.