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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. » Authorities found a man and his two young children dead when officers made entry into an apartment in southwestern Missouri, ending a standoff that had lasted nearly 24 hours, police said.
The Springfield Police Department said in a statement late Monday that a man inside the home appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His son and daughter, ages 4 and 2, were also found dead inside, according to the statement.
Springfield police spokeswoman Lisa Cox said she could not provide additional information about how the children died. No one else was inside the home.
The standoff began when police responded around 9:30 p.m. Sunday to a "check person" call at the apartment on the southwest side of town, according to the statement. Officers encountered an armed man and set up a perimeter.
Negotiations with the man continued throughout the day.
Bomb squad robots were deployed toward the apartment Monday evening and explosions could be heard, the Springfield News-Leader reported.
"Some of the noises and bangs you heard was us entering the apartment," police Lt. Eric Reece said at a press conference. "We sent in robots, which helped clear for our safety."
When officers entered the apartment, all three were found dead, Reece said.
The three were identified as William R. Williams, 51; Brodie Williams, 4; and Marley Williams, 2.
Reece said officials would be processing evidence from the scene overnight. The investigation is ongoing.
Sam Coryell, executive director of TLC Properties, told the News-Leader that the standoff prompted the evacuation of the other residents of Williams’ building. Some tenants were sleeping in the building’s clubhouse and others were in vacant units, Coryell said.
