Armed robber was son of Stonington cop

A 21-year-old North Stonington man was identified Friday as the armed gunman who robbed a McDonald's restaurant in Hartford Thursday and later took his own life.

According to Hartford police, Kyle Smith robbed the Flatbush Avenue restaurant about 5:35 p.m.

Smith is the son of Stonington police Sgt. Bruce Smith.

Sgt. Christene Mertes, public information officer for Hartford police, said Friday that when officers arrived they learned an armed white male suspect had fled the scene in a Toyota pickup. The truck was found unoccupied at 12 Bonner St. at approximately 6:09 p.m. Witnesses reported that a man armed with a handgun had entered the woods adjacent to Trinity College.

On Friday afternoon, Trinity President James F. Jones Jr. said the college went into lockdown at that point at the urging of Hartford police.

In a letter to faculty, staff and students, Jones said that text, voice and e-mail were used to notify everyone to go inside campus buildings and remain there. He said that meant some students, including members of the crew team at the boathouse, could not return to campus. The lockdown ended after three hours, after police reported the suspect had taken his own life.

The college president said Trinity's emergency management and notification systems worked as designed.

Jones referred to Smith as "a young man not much older than Trinity students" and said Smith "left a note at his home indicating his plans to commit a robbery and to end his life."

Earlier in the day Thursday, Smith appeared at G.A. 10 in New London on numerous motor vehicle charges.

State police arrested him Wednesday in Montville after they said he fled the scene of a car accident in the area of Interstate 95 south between Exits 89 and 88. The accident happened around 2 p.m. but police did not arrest him until later that evening.

He was charged with evading responsibility, following too closely and failure to drive in proper lane.

Hours before the Hartford robbery, state police issued a "be on the lookout" bulletin for Smith after they received word from his family that he was despondent and suicidal.

After the robbery, a perimeter was established and a state police K9 unit from Colchester responded to assist in the search, said Mertes, the Hartford spokeswoman. About 7:44 p.m. officers heard a gunshot from a wooded area being searched near 255 Zion St.

Officers found a white male matching the suspect's description in the woods with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene and made a presumption of death at 9:52 p.m.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Smith died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head and ruled his death a suicide.

Last year, Smith was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident. According to Stonington police, Smith had been driving south on North Stonington Road when he tried to pass a southbound van on the right. He struck the side of the van and lost control.

He was flown by Life Star helicopter to Rhode Island Hospital, where doctors determined Smith had suffered a serious neck injury.

Trinity scheduled a special service in the chapel Friday afternoon. Counselors, deans of students and chaplains were available to anyone who wanted counseling.

"I know as I try and reconcile the varied emotions I experienced, I find the overwhelming feeling is one of sadness as I think about the unnecessary loss of a life and the personal pain that led to it," Jones wrote. "My heart goes out to his family and friends."

i.larraneta@theday.com