Published: June 20, 2008 11:11 pm         

Rape suspect ends standoff with suicide

A 28-year-old Somerset man facing rape charges died Thursday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a three-hour standoff with police.

Somerset police responded to a call of a suicide threat at 10:42 p.m. Wednesday at 133 W. Main St. They found Douglas Higgins inside a third-floor apartment of the Law and Finance Building, borough police Chief Randy Cox said.

“Higgins had been in a verbal domestic altercation and retreated to the bedroom with a rifle threatening to shoot himself,” Cox said.

Ten officers from Somerset and the state police barracks surrounded the building while Somerset firefighters closed off the street. Police went inside and attempted to talk to Higgins through the door, Cox said.

Police tried to coax Higgins into surrendering or at least to surrender his weapon, the chief said.

The stand off ended at 1:25 a.m. Thursday.

“A single shot was heard and officers forced open the door,” Cox said.

Higgins was airlifted by medical helicopter to Johnstown. He died from a self-inflicted, .22-caliber shot to the head at 8:10 a.m. in the intensive care unit of Memorial Medical Center, Cambria County Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski said.

Higgins was facing four counts of rape filed before District Judge Susan Mankamyer of Boswell.

He also faced assault charges in Somerset stemming from an April 2007 fight. In that incident, Higgins turned himself in to authorities after reportedly striking a man with a nunchaku and then biting off the tip of his nose in a dispute over a woman.

Patrick Buchnowski is a staff writer for the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat.