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SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (AP) -- Authorities have identified the man who kept police at bay for nearly seven hours in a standoff that ended when the man took his own life.
Police twice shot tear gas into the home before storming it Thursday evening. Inside, they found the body of Mark Harries, 45.
It was unknown how long Harries had been dead or the cause of death.
The standoff began when Harries, apparently distraught over ongoing divorce proceedings, called his estranged wife and threatened to kill himself.
Harries' wife called police at 12:45 p.m. and told them he was alone in a pickup truck outside the couple's house, intoxicated and armed with at least one gun.
She had not been living at the home recently, but told police her husband owned several guns, including high-powered rifles.
The man never directly threatened police but pointed a gun at a family friend, warning him off, said South Salt Lake Police Sgt. Steve Daniels. Harries eventually entered the home, where officers tried to communicate with him over the phone and with a bullhorn.
Two schools -- Woodrow Wilson Elementary and Granite Park Junior High -- were placed in lockdown during the standoff affecting more than 1,100 students, according to Granite School District spokeswoman Danielle Kitchen.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
