The Latest: Police: Suspect in 4 homicides killed himself

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of four professionals in the Phoenix area and the search for a suspect (all times local):

8:20 a.m.

Police say a suspect in four Phoenix area homicides that happened in a three-day period killed himself as SWAT officers entered his room at an extended stay hotel.

Phoenix police Sgt. Vince Lewis says officers evacuated people near the suspect’s room before they entered it early Monday morning.

Shots were fired as the SWAT team went into the suspect’s room but Lewis says officers did not fire any shots.

The suspect was identified only as an adult male.

Lewis says the suspect has been linked to all four of the killings. Previously police had said three of the killings were linked and they were investigating whether the fourth death was related to the other killings.

The victims were a forensic psychiatrist, two paralegals and a counselor.

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7:45 a.m.

Police say they have surrounded a hotel in a Phoenix suburb where a suspect linked to recent homicides may be staying.

A statement from police in the Scottsdale suburb says officers Monday morning are attempting to make contact with a suspect who was not identified.

The statement says the event “does appear to be related to the recent homicides in Phoenix and Scottsdale.”

Authorities are investigating the deaths of four professionals who were fatally shot.

The victims were identified as a prominent forensic psychiatrist, a counselor and two paralegals.

Police have said that the deaths of the psychiatrist and the paralegals were linked but were not immediately linking the death of the counselor to the other three deaths.

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12 a.m.

A fourth professional found fatally shot in a three-day span has been identified by Arizona detectives as a 72-year-old counselor and life coach, but authorities were not immediately linking his death to that of the other three.

Police in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale said Sunday that Marshall Levine was found shot inside an office building shortly after midnight Saturday. The Arizona Republic reported Levine worked as a hypnotherapist and life coach. He also provided marriage and divorce counseling.

On Thursday, Dr. Steven Pitt, a prominent forensic psychiatrist who assisted in high-profile murder cases including the JonBenet Ramsey mystery in Colorado, and a notorious Phoenix serial killer investigation, was found dead near Scottsdale. Witnesses reported hearing a loud argument and gunfire outside Pitt’s office.

Police said the killings Friday of paralegals Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, were related to the Pitt shooting, but were still trying to determine exactly what linked the three victims.

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