Homicide Suspect in Missing Persons Case Killed During Sunnyvale Search

A homicide suspect in a missing persons case was killed in Sunnyvale Thursday morning while public safety officers were serving a search warrant at his home and he allegedly pulled out a weapon when he heard knocks at the door.

The man killed was identified by the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety as 53-year-old Glenn Griggs. He was suspected in the death of Molly Franquemont, a woman reported missing in May 2013 who lived at the same address as Griggs, authorities said.

Capt. Jeffrey Plecque said Griggs was killed after he "brandished" a weapon - a long gun - before 9 a.m. at a home at the intersection of Fair Oaks and Maude avenues.

“The officers knocked on the door, and they were ignored, and then the suspect displayed a weapon,” Plecque said.

Plecque didn't give many details about why Griggs was suspected in Franquemont's disappearance - and suspected death. But he did say the two knew each other.

“It evolved from a missing persons case into a homicide investigation, and we believe he was involved with the disappearance,” Plecque said.

Investigators say the woman was first reported missing about a year ago, and while they believe she was killed, they say her body has never been found.

The morning shooting disrupted the normally quiet city of Sunnyvale.

An NBC Bay Area reporter heard at least 12 gunshots in the neighborhood at the time - and only later discovered Griggs was shot inside his home.

NBC Bay Area's helicopter overhead showed a Sunnyvale SWAT truck, which had broken through a small wooden fence in front of a home in a residential neighborhood. A door to the home lay on the ground.

At 9:25 a.m., the public safety department sent out an alert saying several streets had been closed because of the shooting. Columbia Middle School on Morse Avenue was locked down until shortly after 9:30 a.m. Just after 10 a.m., police said the scene was "stabilized."

Officers spent the day collecting evidence and investigating the shooting. They even brought in a fire truck to take photos of the scene from a bird’s eye view.

The last time a Sunnyvale officer shot and killed a suspect was in August 2013. The next month, a man was killed by a Santa Clara police officer during an undercover police drug sting in Sunnyvale in the parking lot of a Hobee's restaurant.

NBC Bay Area's Alan Waples, Lisa Fernandez and Shelby Hansen contributed to this report.

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