photo credit: Sonoma County

 A man who was accused of killing someone in Cloverdale on Saturday was later found dead inside a residence in Santa Rosa after a standoff with law enforcement, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said Sunday. 

A victim was found suffering from a gunshot wound. They were pronounced dead at the scene after first aid was unsuccessful, the Sheriff's Office said.  

Law enforcement identified 56-year-old Cloverdale resident Lawrence Cassidy as the shooting suspect. He had fled the scene by the time deputies and officers arrived. 

His white Ford SUV was later found in Healdsburg. The Sheriff's Office said its investigation indicated Cassidy had been driven from there to a residence in Santa Rosa. 

After locating him at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday in the 1500 block of Brush Creek Road, a Sheriff's Office SWAT team was deployed, along with hostage negotiators and a bomb squad. 

Two people were removed from the residence unharmed, but Cassidy refused to come out or communicate with law enforcement, and allegedly fired multiple shots from within the residence, according to the Sheriff's Office 

A shelter-in-place order was issued by the Santa Rosa Police Department during the response. 

Chemical agents were deployed by the SWAT team and contact via a loudspeaker and phone remained unsuccessful. After about three hours, a drone and bomb defusing robot with a camera were sent into the residence and captured images indicating Cassidy was unresponsive.  

Deputies and members of the SWAT team followed and allegedly discovered Cassidy dead. 

Cassidy's death will be reviewed by the Marin County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Unit in accordance with Sonoma County's Employee-Involved Critical Incident Protocol, which calls for outside investigations when there is a death involving law enforcement. 

The Sheriff's Office response will be investigated by the Petaluma Police Department and the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.