Police say a man who died in a self-inflicted shooting Sunday outside the Laconia Police Department was involved in a domestic violence incident in another town moments earlier.

The man, who authorities have not identified, was immediately rendered first aid at the police station and taken by ambulance to Lakes Region General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

“It’s a very tragic incident for the family of the deceased,” Laconia Police Chief Matthew Canfield said Monday afternoon. “We did transport him but he died almost instantly.”

The pursuit initially began in Gilford, where shortly after 4:30 p.m. police responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Vincent Drive.

“Upon further investigation, we learned that one shot was fired from a vehicle into another,” Gilford’s Deputy Chief Kristian Kelley said. “There was no one injured as a result of that shot being fired.”

Witnesses provided a description of the suspect vehicle, which Gilford police located a short time later and began pursuing in connection with the domestic violence-related shooting. When the suspect drove into neighboring Laconia, police from that city picked up the pursuit on Morrill Street.

The pursuit continued through Veterans Square and on to the Laconia Police Department on New Salem Street, which is less than 3 miles away from the original call in Gilford. Canfield said the suspect pulled into the front entrance of the police station and then parked in the rear lot before exiting the vehicle with a semi-automatic handgun in one hand.

The man was confronted by several police officers at that time. He then shot himself.

Canfield said the entire incident was captured on officers’ body cameras. He noted that there will be a thorough investigation into the incident even though no criminal charges can be filed against the suspect.

The Laconia Police Department is providing support services to the responding officers and its staff following the call. The four officers who responded Sunday are on temporary leave and will undergo a critical incident stress debriefing before returning to work, Canfield said.

“Calls like this are rare but do happen. When they do, they certainly take a toll on our officers, especially those who were the immediately responding officers,” Canfield said. “This has had a reverberating effect throughout the whole department.”

(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319 or at adandrea@cmonitor.com.)