LAKELAND, Fla. -- A 24-hour standoff with law enforcement in Lakeland ended Sunday after a man shot himself, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

  • Man shoots self in Lakeland standoff
  • Man had barricaded self and daughter inside home
  • Daughter was released, unharmed prior to shooting

Gary Cauley, 39, had barricaded himself and his 6-year-old daughter inside a home on Dartmouth Road.

Cauley released the girl from the home Sunday afternoon.

A domestic disturbance at the home began at about 4 a.m. Saturday when Cauley arrived at the home which belongs to his estranged wife.

The two argued throughout the morning, deputies said.

By 1:10 p.m., Cauley had discovered that afternoon that his wife had planned on going to the beach with another man.

Deputies say his wife called 911 when Cauley armed himself with a handgun and threatened to kill himself. Cauley also refused to let the couple's daughter leave the house.

When deputies arrived at the home, his wife came out to meet them.

For the next 24 hours, law enforcement negotiated with Cauley, trying to get him to surrender.

Shortly before 1:30 p.m. Cauley told his daughter to go outside with the deputies. In a news conference Sunday, Sheriff Grady Judd said Cauley told his daughter he was going to kill himself prior to releasing her.

Cauley eventually came to the front of the house with a gun pointed in his mouth and shot himself.

"We gave him opportunity after opportunity not to commit suicide," said Judd. "When we got him to the front door, we felt really, really good that, well, he's going to give up. But he wouldn't put that gun down."

Cauley was pronounced dead at the scene.