HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – A murder suspect, whom police said barricaded inside a Holyoke motel, is dead.

Hartford Police said that officers were called to Magnolia Street for a ShotSpotter activation around 7 p.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, a parked vehicle was found with an unresponsive woman in the driver’s seat, who was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

The victim, identified as 46-year-old Diana Tirado of New Britain, CT, was pronounced dead at the scene. A second woman, in her 30’s, was found on a nearby sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to a Hartford-area hospital, where she was last listed in stable condition.

A suspect, whose name has not been released, was developed through Hartford Police’s investigation and they learned he was in a Holyoke motel room. Thursday morning, Mass. State Police, Holyoke Police, and Hartford Police went to Budget Inn on Northampton Street in Holyoke and evacuated the property, except for the suspect’s room.

Hartford Police said Mass. State Police was able to establish contact with the suspect to try and negotiate his surrender. The suspect remained barricaded in the room and refused to go outside, which led to a standoff that closed Route 5 between Mountain Park Road in Holyoke and East Street in Easthampton for hours.

Neighbors and bystanders shared with Western Mass News that they were stuck just feet away from the scene where they could hear police yelling at the suspect to exit the room. “We were definitely scared knowing that there was a murder holdup in that building, definitely made us nervous, but we definitely felt safe with the massive police presence,” said Olivia Thompson. “And we’re still a little bit on edge, like not really knowing what happened over there.”

“After a several hours long standoff, it was learned that the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Hartford Police said in a statement.

The investigation into Tirado’s death remains active and ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Hartford Police at 860-722-TIPS (8477).

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