Twenty-four hour Missouri standoff ends, police find three dead

[March 17, 2015]  (Reuters) - A 24-hour standoff at a Missouri apartment complex ended on Monday evening, when police broke into the home and found the dead bodies of a man and two of his children, officials said.

The Springfield Police Department said in a statement that officers breached the apartment door and found 51-year-old William Williams, who appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the bodies of his daughter and son, aged 2 and 4-years-old.

It was not clear from the statement how the children died. A police spokeswoman could not be immediately reached to provide details.

The standoff started after police received a call to make a check at the apartment complex around 9:30 p.m. local time on Sunday and they encountered the armed suspect. Police conducted negotiations until breaking into the apartment on Monday, police said.

The investigation into the incident will continue. Further details were not immediately available.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco)

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