AKRON, Ohio — Police say a woman was shot in the back Sunday as she shielded her children from gunshots fired by her ex-boyfriend during a confrontation on the streets that ended with the gunman taking his own life.

The 23-year-old woman was listed in serious condition Sunday evening at Akron City Hospital. Her three young children were not injured.

According to police, the woman was walking with her children at about 5 p.m. with a female friend and her child near the intersection of East Exchange Street and South Arlington Avenue in the Arlington neighborhood.

Witnesses tell police the victim’s boyfriend, who is the father of her youngest child, pulled up in a pickup truck into the closed intersection of East Exchange Street and River Street.

The man got out of the truck and walked toward the woman, first exchanging words and then getting into a physical confrontation.

Police say the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired several shots. The woman, attempting to shield her three children, was wounded in the back.

The other woman ran with her child to a nearby gas station, police say.

Meanwhile, an armed guard with Typhon Security, who was working at a nearby construction site, heard the incident and approached the suspect. The two men exchanged gunfire, and police say the suspect tried to again shoot the female victim but his gun jammed.

According to police, two males and a female jumped out from two separate vehicles and tried to help the victim and her children. The two males wrestled with the suspect, who dropped his handgun and pulled out a knife, police say.

The two males and female helped the victim and her children into their cars. They drove them to the intersection of South Arlington Street and Clark Street, where they flagged down a police officer.

The male suspect retrieved his handgun and ran eastbound on River Street, again exchanging gunfire with the security guard, police say. The suspect was then confronted by a police officer.

The suspect then put the gun to his head and shot himself, police say. He was taken to Akron City Hospital but he died of his wounds.

The security guard was not injured.

The suspect’s name will not be released pending positive identification and family notifications, police say. The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.

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