SWAT standoff ends with suspect dead in Kings County

KINGS COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man is dead following a standoff with a SWAT team in Kings County on Sunday.

The Kings County Sheriff's Office says the situation started around 11 a.m. behind a ranch near Highway 43 and Kansas Avenue. A farmworker went to check on a vehicle that was parked on a canal bank. Sheriff's deputies say a man was in the vehicle, holding a rifle and making obscure statements that scared the worker.

The SWAT team responded to the scene and tried to start negotiations with the suspect. During the process, the sheriff's office says a round was fired from the suspect's vehicle. SWAT officers then opened fire.

It's not clear if the suspect was firing at the SWAT team members or at himself, according to investigators. It's also unclear if the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from the bullets fired by the officers.

Investigators aren't releasing the identity of the suspect and say they won't know exactly how he died until an autopsy is complete.