Auburn robbery suspect who shot himself during police chase identified

A robbery suspect who apparently shot himself Wednesday during a police chase in Auburn, Ala., after firing at a sheriff’s deputy has been identified as a Franklinton, La., resident.

Auburn police identified the suspect as Bobby Keith Brumfield, 40. He died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot during a pursuit by a Lee County sheriff’s deputy. The suspect was pronounced dead at 1:04 p.m. Wednesday by Lee County Deputy Coroner Gene Manning.

Brumfield was a registered sex offender in Louisiana and wanted by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s office for aggravated burglary, second degree battery, second degree robbery, simple assault and theft of a motor vehicle.  Auburn police, with help from the State Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Identification Bureau Latent Prints Unit, was able to identify the suspect through fingerprints and department of corrections records. 

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating the officer-involved shooting in Auburn. The robbery investigation is being conducted by Auburn police.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said Thursday that the shot fired into the deputy’s vehicle missed the deputy by inches. “It was as close as it could get without hitting him,” he said.

Before the suspect’s 2008 Jeep Wrangler collided with a 2008 GMC Yukon in the 1000 block of South Gay Street, a Lee County sheriff’s deputy taking part in the chase returned fire at Brumfield but missed.

 Jones said the deputy wasn’t injured and is expected to return to duty soon.

  A 47-year-old woman driving the Yukon and a juvenile passenger were injured in the collision. They were transported to East Alabama Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries.

 The chase started after officers were called to a robbery at a convenience store in the 3000 block of Cox Road. Officers spotted the vehicle after a description was broadcasted to authorities. An Auburn police officer found the vehicle and attempted to perform a traffic stop before it fled.

 Several minutes into the pursuit, officer deployed stop sticks to disable the vehicle. That’s when a shot was fired at the Lee County deputy’s car.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Auburn robbery suspect who shot himself during police chase identified ."