DEL VALLE, TX (KXAN) – A woman was shot and killed by her accused kidnapper in Del Valle Wednesday afternoon. The shooting happened as deputies approached the male suspect and the woman in a field on Burch Drive, just off State Highway 71.

Officials say when the suspect shot the woman, a deputy opened fire, and the suspect shot himself in the head. The suspect has critical, life-threatening injuries and was taken by Austin-Travis County EMS to South Austin Medical Center.

Before the shooting, the suspect walked into SportClips Haircuts at 489 Agnes in Bastrop at around 1:30 p.m. Officers were told he entered the business with a handgun and demanded one of the female employees, who he knew, leave with him.

The woman left with the suspect after he displayed a gun, and they drove westbound on State Highway 71. Travis County deputies were already on SH 71 in Del Valle in response to a large group of Del Valle High School students marching and protesting on the highway near campus.

Westbound SH 71 was blocked by deputies as they followed behind the protesters. The suspect, approaching the traffic jam, turned off 71 and drove next to Austin First Church.

A deputy driving by saw the vehicle next to the church with both doors open and pulled over to investigate. The suspect and woman, who are both in their 30s, were walking across a field behind the church near Burch Drive when another two deputies came down the road.

As they approached the suspect, he pulled out his gun and shot the woman, deputies say. She died at the scene. When one of the deputies began firing at the suspect, he shot himself in the head.

Kristen Dark, with the sheriff’s office, says they do not know if the deputy’s shots hit the suspect. “They were out here to protect a bunch of students who were protesting and this situation fell in their laps,” she said.

Del Valle ISD says they did not place the high school on lockdown during the nearby shooting incident. Students involved in the walkout and march on SH 71 were loaded on buses and returned to the high school.