Delco man shoots wife, then kills self during 100-mph police chase
Gilbert Snowden, 41, of Upper Chichester, died by suicide Wednesday morning, police said.
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Upper Chichester police have released more details on an incident early Wednesday in which a 41-year-old man shot his wife and then led authorities on a high-speed chase on I-95 from Delaware County into Philadelphia before fatally shooting himself in the head.
Gilbert Snowden, whose wife obtained a permanent protection-from-abuse order against him earlier this year, crashed his BMW into the guide rail near the Island Avenue off-ramp after leading police on a 100 mph pursuit about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Upper Chichester Police Chief Thomas Bush said Thursday.
Before the chase, Snowden had shot his wife, 40, in a shoulder, the stomach and a hip, Bush said. The woman, whose name was not released, was in stable condition Thursday at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
Three children, ages 10, 16 and 19, were inside the family's home on Meetinghouse Road when Snowden shot his wife three times, the chief said. When their mother ran outside, he said, Snowden shot her again.
The mother yelled to the two younger children to run to the Boothwyn fire station a block away, he said, while the 19-year-old stayed to call 911. The two children banged on the door of the firehouse to be let in, Bush said, and their mother got medical attention.
When police arrived at the home at 12:20 a.m, Snowden had already fled Upper Chichester, Bush said, and police officers began to search for him. They found his car at a rest area on I-95 in Delaware County, but Snowden quickly drove back onto I-95 once he saw a marked police car arrive at the rest stop.
Police chased Snowden's car on I-95 for several miles, the chief said, with the vehicle reaching a maximum speed of around 100 mph. Snowden was the only person in the car, he said, and no one else was injured and no vehicles were damaged in the chase.
The pursuit ended when Snowden's car suddenly slowed and crashed into the guide rail.
Officers heard no gunshot as the car slowed, and Bush said police assumed Snowden had shot himself during the chase.
Philadelphia police took Snowden to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 3:19 a.m., the chief said.
Police recovered a 9 mm handgun. Bush said Snowden was prohibited from owning a firearm because of earlier criminal convictions that included assault.