Man Found Dead After 18-Hour Armed Standoff Identified: Guilford PD

UPDATE: Police said Friday that the "deceased subject from the Route 80/Fitch Hill Road incidents has been positively identified as Keith Neal, Age 51, of Guilford. The investigation remains active at this time."

No other information was released by police.

Original post: GUILFORD, CT — A man died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after a nearly 18-hour standoff in Guilford Wednesday into Thursday, according to police. A family member who was being held at the house was found uninjured.

The Guilford Fire Department got a call about a fire on Durham Road on Wednesday afternoon, Police Chief Warren Hyatt said at a news conference. Firefighters were confronted by a man brandishing two long guns, who then left the scene in a car.

The man then went to a Fitch Hill Road residence where a family member lived, Hyatt said. The family member called police and said that they were being held inside and that the man was armed.

The South Central SWAT and negotiation teams were called to the scene and attempted to negotiate with the man.

State police took control of the situation around 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

“While we were on scene, members of the State Police SWAT Team heard a woman in the house yelling in distress,” State Police Lt. Alex Giannone said. “At that point, members of the SWAT team decided to conduct a hostage rescue.”

SWAT entered the residence and found the man dead from a gunshot wound, Giannone said. A woman was found unharmed and was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

The State Police Major Crime Unit will investigate the incident.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy, but police believe the gunshot wound was self-inflicted, Hyatt said. No police officers had fired weapons.