Lakeland Police Standoff Ends With Dad's Shooting Death: Report

LAKELAND, FL — An armed father who barricaded himself inside a Lakeland home with his 6-year-old daughter has died shortly after a SWAT team was sent to the address. Tactical units arrived at the home on Walt Williams Road on Sunday afternoon where Gary Cauley, 39, was threatening to kill himself.

Cauley began arguing with his estranged wife Saturday afternoon when he learned of her plans to go to a beach with another man, the Ledger reported. He grabbed a handgun and refused to let his daughter go with her mother, the newspaper reported.

She called authorities and a standoff ensued, lasting about 24 hours into Sunday afternoon. At one point SWAT officers entered through the front door using a robot. Cauley died around 2:10 p.m. Sunday, though it wasn't immediately clear who shot him.

Cauley and his estranged wife were involved in a domestic violence incident July 2, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told WTSP-TV.

Photo credit: bibiphoto/Shutterstock.com