SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah (AP) – A heavily armed man held authorities at bay for hours Thursday before police stormed his home and discovered he had committed suicide. The standoff had forced two nearby schools to lock down.

“We deployed some gas inside the home to bring this to a safe ending,” police Sgt. Steve Daniels said. “We found our suspect had committed suicide inside the home.”

The cause and time of death were unknown. Police were first called about 12:45 p.m.; the gunman was found dead about 7:30 p.m.

Police never talked to the man, although they had delivered a cell phone to his home so he could speak with a negotiator.

“We never did have contact with him other than the initial contact with the family friend and the wife,” Daniels said.

The man’s estranged wife called police and said he was alone in a pickup truck outside the couple’s house. The man was intoxicated and suicidal, she told police. The couple had been going through a divorce, Daniels said.

The man never directly threatened police but pointed a gun at a family friend, warning him off, Daniels said. He then went inside the home.

Daniels said police had been told the man was heavily armed with weapons including “high powered rifles.”

An elementary and a middle school were locked down and students kept inside for about 30 minutes, according to Granite School District spokeswoman Danielle Kitchen.

When the school day ended, about 1,000 students in both schools were either escorted to buses and driven home, or their parents were asked to drive them home.