A Redondo Beach kidnapping suspect who threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and then himself was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Thursday after a daylong police siege at a Torrance motel.

The body of Timothy Thomas, 27, of Los Angeles was found in one of the guest rooms at the Super 8 motel on Sepulveda Boulevard just after 3 p.m., according to Redondo Beach police. Special weapons team officers had fired flash-bangs into the room after escorting occupants of the motel complex to safety.

The kidnapping occurred about 3:20 a.m. Thursday when a 22-year-old woman, Thomas’ ex-girlfriend, was forced at gunpoint into his older gold Honda Accord sedan in the 900 block of Carnelian Street, Redondo Beach police Lt. Joe Hoffman said.

According to authorities, Thomas made his way into the victim’s home without consent and confronted the victim at gunpoint. The victim’s roommate heard the commotion and attempted to intervene.

“The roommate saw the suspect with a gun pointed at the victim,” Hoffman said. “He told the roommate to go away or he would shoot her.”

Thomas then forced his ex-girlfriend into his vehicle at gunpoint and fled.

Thomas took the victim to the Super 8 motel in the 2300 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, where he indicated that he planned on killing her and then himself, Hoffman said. The victim spent time pleading with him not to hurt anyone, he said. Somehow, she convinced Thomas to leave the hotel room and return to Redondo Beach, and, during the conversation, she created enough distance from him to flee to the lobby and talk to the manager, Hoffman said. The manager called Torrance police about 5:15 a.m.

As the SWAT team arrived, they saw Thomas in the parking structure and heard two to three gunshots ring out. Thomas fled back to his hotel room, authorities said.

The victim was found in the lobby, unharmed.

“She has been through an incredible ordeal. I’m sure it’s going to be difficult to process, but physically she did not suffer any serious injuries,” Hoffman said. “I commend her for her bravery based on the fact that she recognized the suspect’s intentions.”

SWAT officers surrounded the three-story motel, and police shut down Sepulveda from Crenshaw to Arlington Street early in the day as officers prepared to evacuate the motel and search room to room.

Throughout the 11-hour ordeal, as Sepulveda remained closed, hotel guests were evacuated and surrounding businesses were closed. SWAT officers filtered in and out, at times employing police dogs and loud flash-bangs that set off car alarms.

“This is horrible,” said a resident of a nearby neighborhood, walking down the street with her little girl. “That girl (the victim) is so lucky. That is so scary.”

Others voiced their annoyance at the helicopters hovering overhead and the fact that the standoff lasted all day, backing up traffic across town by closing off a major thoroughfare.

“The SWAT team was just doing everything methodically and took their time,” Torrance police Sgt. Paul Kranke said. “We wanted to make sure everything was done properly.”

Westbound Sepulveda Boulevard was opened to traffic a little after 4 p.m., but police remained at the scene to conduct an investigation, authorities said.

Thomas did not have a criminal record or any history of domestic violence, authorities said.

The police could not confirm when Thomas took his own life. That will be determined by the coroner.