Local News in Brief : Man, 21, Threatens Girlfriend, Kills Self With Gun, Police Say

A 21-year-old Granada Hills man who earlier had threatened to kill his girlfriend, shot himself to death Sunday morning when police surrounded the couple’s house, police reported.

Officers arrived at the house in the 11400 block of Rubio Street after the girlfriend called the 911 emergency number shortly before 10 a.m., Los Angeles police Lt. Rick Violano said. The woman, who was not identified, told police that Christopher P. Reinecke had threatened her with a gun during a dispute.

Officers saw the girlfriend run into the backyard as they arrived, Violano said. Moments later, officers heard what they described as a “muffled popping sound” and summoned police Special Weapons and Tactics team members to the scene.

SWAT team members fired tear gas into the residence after unsuccessfully trying to communicate with the boyfriend, Violano said. They later found Reinecke dead in the bedroom from a single, self-inflicted gunshot, officers said.