It started as an armed robbery in Meadow Lake — and it ended with the suspect shooting at RCMP then taking his own life.

The 37-year-old man, armed with a .22-caliber rifle, held up a gas station at about 2:00 Saturday afternoon.

RCMP tracked him down a couple of hours later, but he refused to pull over — instead, leading police on a chase to a rural area about 6 km west of Meadow Lake.

The suspect jumped out of his vehicle and ran into a garage after firing a couple of shots at police.

A 13-hour standoff followed.

It ended with the man shooting himself at about 6:00 Sunday morning.

He was pronounced dead at hospital.

His name has not been released.