Five people are free and unharmed after taking cover inside a home where an armed man held SWAT officers at bay for several hours Monday before taking his own life.

Irving police said they were called to a home on the 300 block of San Marcos Drive at about 9 a.m. when someone in the neighborhood reported hearing gunshots.

Irving police spokesman James McLellan said a man in his 60s is believed to have fired shots at the home where his estranged wife lives, causing several people inside the home to hide and take cover.

The man then entered the home and refused to surrender to police.

At about 11 a.m., one person came out of a backyard shed; just after noon police said four others had been freed and were safe. Negotiators continued, however, to try to get the man inside to surrender peacefully.

Just before 3 p.m., McLellan said SWAT officers were never able to reach the man so they fired tear gas into the home hoping to force him out. When there was no reaction, they decided to enter and search the home.

Inside the residence, McLellan said, officers found the man deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Five people held hostage by an armed man inside a Las Colinas home are safe after being freed late Monday morning. The armed man, meanwhile, continues to hold Irving SWAT officers at bay.

Irving police have not yet released the man's name but did say he did not live at the home and that they believe he is the estranged husband of a woman living at the residence. McLellan said the man's identity will be released by the medical examiner.

Five people are free and unharmed after taking cover inside a home where an armed man held SWAT officers at bay for several hours Monday before taking his own life.

McLellan said Monday afternoon that it's not clear if the man actually held the people hostage at gunpoint or if they were hiding in the home because they knew he'd fired the gun and was in the house.

Investigators are working to determine what led to the initial gunfire.

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