Public safety 1

(The Oregonian/OregonLive)

A woman shot and killed herself minutes after waving a handgun at detectives while they were serving a search warrant in an alleged elder abuse case at a Vancouver apartment Tuesday, a police spokeswoman said.

No one answered the door when detectives showed up to serve the warrant on Northeast 72nd Avenue near 51st Street, Kim Kapp of the Vancouver Police Department said in a news release. The detectives went into the apartment, entered a bathroom and were confronted by a woman with a gun.

The woman is the suspect in the investigation, Kapp said.

Detectives pulled back and started talking with the woman, Kapp said, but they heard a gunshot several minutes later. SWAT personnel who were outside the apartment complex tried to rescue the woman after hearing the gunshot, but she was dead.

SWAT personnel had responded when they heard the woman was armed, Kapp said.

Clark County Sheriff's Office detectives will investigate the shooting. The woman hasn't been publicly identified, pending next of kin notification.

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015