H.B. man shoots himself after police chase

Police have released the name of a Huntington Beach man who shot himself to death in the middle of the street this morning after police caught his car at the end of a short chase, according to authorities.

Jeffrey J. Tinnion, 51, Huntington Beach, killed himself after police tracked him down, following reports he shot at ex-girlfriend Nicola Hernandez, 43, police said.

The chase started after police responded to reports of a shooting at an apartment in the 6400 block of Warner Avenue about 9:30 a.m., Huntington Beach police Lt. Dave Bunetta said. Tinnion had walked into the apartment complex, shot at Hernandez, and left in a white pickup truck, he said.

Hernandez sustained non-life threatening wounds and was hospitalized, Bunetta said.

At the same time, officers saw Tinnion’s Toyota at Springdale Street and Heil Avenue and tried to pull it over, but the truck didn’t stop, he said.

It was not a high-speed chase, and Tinnion was stopping at red lights, Bunetta said.

Two minutes later, cops stopped the truck cold at Springdale and McFadden Avenue by carefully knocking its side and spinning it out, he said.

“[Tinnion] exited the vehicle, stood up and shot himself,” he said.

Orange County Superior Court documents show no prior criminal record for Tinnion in the county.