Gay Bar Attacker Dies After Shootout

An 18-year-old Massachusetts teen who was wanted for a violent attack in a New Bedford gay bar was taken into custody by Arkansas police Saturday, but not before a shootout with police left one officer and the teen's female passenger dead and the teen critically wounded.

Jacob D. Robida was wanted in connection with an attack Thursday in Puzzles Lounge in which three men were wounded, one with a hatchet and two others by gun shots. Robida fled the bar and stopped by his home, where he mother said he was bleeding from the head.

UPDATE: Jacob D. Robida, 18, died Sunday of wounds suffered in a gun battle with officers, authorities said. Robida died at 3:38 a.m. Sunday at Cox-South Hospital in Springfield.

Jim Sell, a police officer in Grassville in northern Arkansas, 1,500 miles from New Bedford, pulled Robida over in a traffic stop. Sell, 63, was shot twice with a 9 mm handgun, police said.

Robida fled the scene toward Norfolk, Arkansas. Police put down spike strips that punctured Robida's tires, but he continued into Norfolk where police had set up a roadblock on Highway 5. His vehicle collided with several parked cars as he tried to avoid the roadblock.

Shot Twice in the Head

After he wrecked, Robida opened fire on a Norfolk police officer and a state police trooper, who returned fire. New Bedford District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr. told reporters that Robida was shot twice in the head during the gun battle.

Robida was taken to a Springfield, Missouri hospital. Authorities did not immediately know the identity of the female passenger who was killed in the shootout, but sources said she was not from New Bedford.

See Also:
Teen Wanted in Gay Bar Rampage Is Caught
Gay Bar Attack Suspect Caught in Ark. After Shootout

Earlier Article:
Police Search for Gay Bar Attacker

More Information:
Hate Crime Issues

More Crime News:
Top Stories
Current Investigations and Trials
Daily Crime Headlines