A 64-year-old Sharon man being pursued by police killed himself Tuesday in his car within a block of Case Avenue Elementary School, police said.

Sharon police said Robert Lee Powell, 632 E. State St., Apartment 76, shot himself with a 12-gauge shotgun before they had a chance to question him about a domestic dispute earlier that day.

Police gave this account:

They received a call at 10:49 a.m. from a woman at 55 W. Connelly Blvd. who said Powell had threatened her with a handgun. The woman, whom police described as an acquaintance of Powell's, also told police where they might find him.

Patrolman Jeffrey Jennings and Capt. Matthew McComb went to Powell's home at 12:48 p.m. and saw him get into his car in a nearby parking lot.

When the pair approached Powell's car, they saw he was holding a handgun to his head.

Powell drove out of the parking lot and headed east on East State Street with McComb and Jennings following him in their cars.

Jennings, with sirens and emergency lights on, attempted to stop Powell's car.

At Case Avenue, police followed Powell through a parking lot, down an alley and onto Wengler Avenue, where he stopped his car.

By this time more policemen had arrived and saw Powell holding a handgun to his head, police said.

Bill Griffiths, owner of Fred W. Kloos & Son Service Station at East State and Wengler said he saw police follow Powell's car around his building. Griffiths said he could hear police yelling for Powell to put his gun down and trying to talk the man out of his car.

A plainclothes policeman entered the gas station and told everyone to get down on the ground, Griffiths said. He said there were about three people there at the time.

After several minutes, Griffiths said he heard a single shot.

Powell shot himself with a 12-gauge shotgun at 12:53 p.m., police said.

In addition to the shotgun, police said they recovered a small-caliber handgun and a knife from Powell's car.

When administrators at Case Avenue Elementary heard about the incident, they locked down the school for safety purposes, Police Chief Thomas Burke said.

Police and emergency medical technicians were able to clear the scene before school let out for the afternoon.

Mercer County Coroner J. Bradley McGonigle ruled the death a suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Powell had been charged Saturday by Sharon police with drunken driving and several traffic violations.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at kgar

rett@sharon-herald.com