Police: Cuffed kidnap, carjack suspect fatally shoots self

A man suspected of kidnapping and carjacking reportedly shot and killed himself in New Orleans while he was in handcuffs. Police said the suspect apparently hid a gun in a seat at the hospital. He had reportedly reached for the concealed firearm when it fired. INQUIRER FILE

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, United States — A handcuffed man shot and killed himself at a Baton Rouge hospital early Saturday after carjacking an acquaintance in New Orleans and kidnapping a second woman at gunpoint, police said.

Garry Saxton, 29, of New Orleans, stole a car from a woman who picked him up to drive him to an airport late Friday night, said New Orleans Police Department spokesman Aaron Looney. The woman told police that Saxton, a relative of her boyfriend, fled in her sport utility vehicle after she escaped to a nearby home.

Saxton, also known as Gary Zarders, also is suspected of kidnapping a second woman in New Orleans before driving to Baton Rouge.

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Saxton arrived at Baton Rouge General Medical Center with a pregnant woman who accused him of kidnapping her, according to Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Don Coppola. The woman was complaining of complications from her pregnancy, Coppola said.

Coppola said Saxton was handcuffed behind his back when he fatally shot himself with a gun that he apparently hid in a seat before hospital security searched and detained him.

“He was sitting in a chair. He was in a waiting area” with security guards but nobody else when he shot himself around 5 a.m., Coppola said.

Coppola said the shooting occurred before Baton Rouge police officers arrived at the hospital.