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Ron: (After the following was written this morning, Jacob D. Robida died of shot gun wounds in a Arkansas hospital.)
Norfolk, Arkansas The hunt for the teen who went on a rampage in a Massachusetts gay bar injuring three ended Saturday night near a small town in Northern Arkansas, but not before two people -one of them a police officer - were killed in a shootout.
18 year old Jacob D. Robida had been on the run since Thursday when he allegedly went to Puzzles bar in New Bedford Massachusetts, took a hatchet from underneath his sweatshirt and struck one man in the face and then pulled a gun and began shooting. In all three people were wounded and sent to hospital.
Two of the victims remain hospitalized - one in critical condition.
New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang walked into Puzzles Lounge Saturday night to announce that Robida had been caught.
The news was greeted with applause. Robert Perry, the third victim in the attack, returned to the bar Saturday night as soon as he heard that Robida had been captured.
Perry was hugged by patrons and said the he hopes he can put the attack behind him. He has a five-inch cut on his right cheek, a hole in the center of his back, where a bullet barely missed his spine, and a black right eye.
Following the attack at Puzzles Robida briefly returned to his family home where he took his mother's green 1999 Pontiac Grand Am.
Saturday the car was spotted in the northern Arkansas town of Gassville. As police officer Jim Sell attempted to apprehend Robida, the teen fired twice at the officer, killing him.
The car then sped off. State troopers laid spike strips on the roadway. Despite two punctured tires the car continued on into downtown Norfolk where police had set up a roadblock.
The car did a 180 degree turn and then slammed into several parked vehicles. After being ordered to surrender the teen opened fire. Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said that during the shootout Robida turned, pointed the gun at a female in the car with him and killed her. State Troopers said they could not confirm that the woman had been shot by Robida. They said they would wait for ballistics tests before commenting further.
During the shootout Robida was shot by police twice in the head. Saturday night he was in a Springfield, Mo. hospital in critical condition. The woman's identity has not been released. Police would say only that she was not from New Bedford. When the car was stopped it was bearing Kentucky plates.
If he recovers from his injuries it is doubtful he will be returned to Massachusetts. He will be tried first in Arkansas which allows for the death penalty in the killing of a police officer.
The teen's personal Web site shows a youth spiraling downwards. The site is full of references to the rap group Insane Clown Posse - known for its sinister clown makeup and violent lyrics. He posted lyrics from one of the band's songs - "Pass the Ax."
"Pass me something Sharp and Wicked and I'll pass it back don't worry I'll pass it back," the posting read. The logo for the band's label, Psychopathic Records, depicts a silhouette of a man wielding a hatchet.
Using the nickname "Jake Jekyll" Robida also posted pictures of himself on the Web site pointing a gun. The pictures bear the caption "serial killer."