Two die in Florida standoff

Orlando - A three-day standoff inside a suburban home ended today after a gunman killed one of his hostages and then turned the…

Orlando - A three-day standoff inside a suburban home ended today after a gunman killed one of his hostages and then turned the weapon on himself. Jamie Dean Petron (41) killed himself with a shot to the chest and was found dead in the kitchen of the house in Orlando.

Ms Andrea Hall (40) who had been visiting her sister when the siege started, was found also found dead in the kitchen. Police said she had been dead for several hours. At the time that Petron shot himself, a 16-year-old girl was hiding in a walk-in closet with a nine-month-old baby, talking to police on the phone, officers said.

They had been among five people held hostage inside the home since Saturday. Two children were released on Sunday, and the two others were freed yesterday by police, shaken but unharmed.