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A quiet Easter Sunday afternoon was shattered with the sound of gunfire following a routine traffic stop in East Brewton, according to police.

East Brewton Police Chief Kenny Brazile said a suspect who was a passenger in an older model vehicle died from a self-inflected gunshot following a brief chase by police mid-afternoon on Sunday.

“Our officer pulled a car over on a routine traffic stop Sunday afternoon near Piggly Wiggly,” Brazile said. “From that point, things changed. As the officer was talking to the driver, the passenger started acting suspiciously. The officer was then joined by backup at that location. The suspect was asked to exit the car. As he was standing in front of the car, he took off running.”

Brazile said the officer at the scene saw the suspect reach into his back pocket and pull out what appeared to be a gun.

“As he was running, it became obvious that he did have a gun,” Brazile said. “The backup officer also witnessed the gun and saw the suspect run into the wooded area behind Piggly Wiggly.

“At that point, the two officers on the scene set up a perimeter and called for additional back-up. Since the subject had a gun any help you can get is good.”

While in the wooded area, officers could hear the suspect speaking in mumbled tones and heard a gunshot.

“When the officers did reach the suspect, he did have some vital signs and an ambulance was called immediately,” Brazile said. “He was transported to D.W. McMillan Hospital where he was pronounced dead.”

Brazile said there was no exchange of gunfire between the suspect and officers on the scene.

“We are continuing to investigate this incident and are still in the process of notifying family members,” Brazil said Monday. “We are also awaiting some toxicology reports and may be able to release the name of the suspect following our investigation.”

Although Brazile did not identify the deceased suspect by name, he did say that he was a resident of the Brewton area.

No other injuries were reported as a result of the incident, Brazile said.

No other details about the case have been released by EBPD.