Prince George's County police say a Suitland man suspected of raping at least nine women has died after shooting himself in the head yesterday while barricaded inside a Hyattsville apartment building.

Police say 33-year-old Mark Antonio Humphries shot himself Wednesday and was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Officers say they believe Humphries was responsible for nine rapes dating back to 2007. All of the victims were prostitutes, say police. They say the events were setup on Craigslist.

Police had obtained an arrest warrant on Sunday in a July 14 attack and tracked Humphries to the Hyattsville apartment Wednesday.

"They had them in there, he wasn't coming out, and obviously they were cautious that he had some type of weapon. Some shots were fired, at one point in time, inside the apartment," said resident Reggie Palmer.

Before police surrounded the Courtyard apartments on Oglethorpe street in Hyattsville, they heard a gunshot. The standoff had been going on for quite some time when officers got into the third floor corner unit. 

They found the Humphries suffering from, what a source said, was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

"They had the little oxygen bag and they were pumping oxygen to him," said Danny Bradersen.

According to sources, the man is a suspect in a series of brutal rapes set up on Craigslist. Police first warned women back in February when they said at least six attacks had been arranged on the website.

"The victims had posted their information and had agreed to meet the suspect. Went to location, while at the location the suspect pulled a gun and raped them in a stairwell," said Major Dan Dusseau.

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