CLARION, Pa. -- A man believed to be the suspect in the shootings of five people including a 12-year-old girl who died early yesterday in Baltimore fatally shot himself after he forced his way into two homes in Clarion County.

The man believed to be James Lydell Ray came out of one of the homes on West Wood Street around 6:30 p.m. and shot himself with a revolver, according to state police. He was taken to Clarion Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:10 p.m. No one else was injured.

Baltimore police had issued a bulletin for a black Hyundai Elantra that Mr. Ray was last seen driving with Maryland license plates.

Mr. Ray, 34, was wanted in the shootings of his girlfriend, her daughter, her two sons and a 39-year-old family friend in northeast Baltimore just after 1 a.m. yesterday during a domestic dispute. The girl's mother was in grave condition last night, Baltimore police Detective Donny Moses said. Her sons, ages 15 and 16, were in critical condition. A family friend also was in critical condition, Detective Moses said.

"We believe this is the gentleman wanted for the five shootings. We believe this is the man wanted in the Baltimore incident," said Lt. Wesley Thurston, of the Pennsylvania State Police.

"We don't know where he was going. We don't know why he was here."

Police were still trying to confirm the dead man's identity late last night, according to Cpl. William Felmlee. County Coroner Terry Shaffer said that based on his initial examination he believes the dead man is Mr. Ray.

"We might go one step further in the morning" and fingerprint the body if asked by Baltimore police, Mr. Shaffer said.

State police said the car wanted by Baltimore police was spotted on Interstate 80 in the Clarion area around 3 p.m. Information was relayed to police in several surrounding counties and police pursued the car through Jefferson and Clarion counties, then into Clarion and neighboring Clarion Township.

The driver of the car ended up crashing the vehicle in a field off West Wood Street, a dead-end road. He then bailed out of the car and tried to break into the home of Bernard and Linda Ganoe. The Ganoes had seen the driver running through the field, prompting Mr. Ganoe, 63, to run down to the basement as the man was trying to kick in his basement door, according to their daughter-in-law Heidi Ganoe.

She said Mr. Ganoe yelled and apparently startled the man, who turned around and ran to the nearby home of Gayle Ganoe, a relative. Gayle Ganoe fled and ran to Bernard and Linda Ganoe's house. The three of them then went to another relative's home nearby, Heidi Ganoe said.

"He gave us a real bad scare," Linda Ganoe, 62, said.

Police said the family then notified troopers who were in the area searching for the car and its driver.

Police blocked off streets leading into the neighborhood. The state police Special Emergency Response Team was called in and surrounded the home as a police helicopter circled overhead.

Cleone Sardi, who lives nearby on Wood Street, said she and her daughter Vickey Kunselman heard a helicopter hovering over the house and when she looked out the front she saw about five police cars head down the road.

Soon after, when Ms. Sardi went out to walk her dogs, state police instructed her to go back home. As she headed back, she saw SERT troopers getting their gear together.

"We saw the state police running down through the woods with their guns," she said. "I said to Vickey 'Lock the doors.' "

State police said they were attempting to negotiate with the man when he came out of the house and into the driveway. They said he brandished a revolver before fatally shooting himself once in the head.

"This is kind of bizarre for this area," Heidi Ganoe said.

Mr. Ray, who is from Baltimore, has a criminal history in the city, Detective Moses said, including drug charges, resisting arrest and a weapons charge.