05/31/2006 2:09 PM ET

LAUREL- A tense three-hour police standoff with a man who fired shots at the outside of his ex-wife's Laurel home Wednesday morning ended when he shot and killed himself.

The Delaware State Police say the incident began at approximately 5:30 a.m. when the suspect identified as Anthony J. Windels, 41, of Omaha, Neb., allegedly fired several rounds into the unoccupied home of his ex-wife's boyfriend (victim), which is located in the 18000 block of Arvey Road.

The police say Windels then left this location and responded to his ex-wife's home on the 30000 block of Beaverdam Branch Road. According to the police, upon arrival at the home, Windels parked his pickup truck on the side of the road just prior to the driveway.

At approximately 5:50 a.m., the ex-wife's boyfriend (victim) left the home to go to work. The police say that as the victim was pulling out of the driveway he was confronted by the suspect, who began shooting at him.

In an attempt to get away from the suspect, the victim drove around house and came back onto the roadway. According to the police, the suspect continued firing at the victim and at least one round struck his vehicle. The victim was able to drive off with being injured and he called 911.

Meantime, while Windels was shooting at the victim, his ex-wife and their two children were in the home and heard the gunshots. After the victim fled, Windels allegedly confronted a newspaper deliverywoman and pointed a weapon at her.

While this was occurring, a Laurel police officer arrived at the scene and began talking to the suspect, ordering him to drop his weapons. Several state police officers then arrived at the scene and also began communicating with the suspect.

While the police officers were attempting to get the suspect to put down his weapons and surrender, two troopers went around to the rear of the home and made contact with Windel's ex-wife who was on the phone with 911. The troopers then escorted the suspect's ex-wife and children (ages 12 and 8) out of the home and to safety.

The Delaware State Police Conflict Management Team (CMT) and Special Operations Response Team (SORT) responded to the scene a short time later. The first CMT member arrived at the scene at approximately 6:30 a.m. and took over negotiations with the suspect. CMT members then negotiated with Windels for approximately three hours while he was standing outside of his pickup truck and the home.

Stephanie Lynch, who lives nearby, described Windels' behavior during the standoff.

"You could see him pacing back and forth holding his guns and his rifle and you could just tell he was somewhere, not on planet Earth," she said.

The police say Windels was initially armed with a .223 caliber rifle (similar to an AR-15), a .40 caliber handgun, and a .45 caliber handgun. During the negotiations, the suspect placed the rifle in his pickup; however, he kept one handgun in his hand and the other in a shoulder holster. During communications with Windels, CMT members talked to him by cell phone and a landline phone that was delivered to him.

At approximately 9:25 a.m., while standing in front of the home, the suspect fired one of his handguns at his wife's vehicle that was parked in the driveway, and then he turned the gun on himself and fired.

The police say Windels was transported to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford where he was pronounced dead at 9:56 a.m.

According to information gathered by the police, Windels was apparently still despondent over his divorce, which occurred approximately one year ago. Windels ex-wife had obtained a protection from abuse order against him last July, and she had not seen him since.

During this incident, Windels fired over 30 rounds on Beaverdam Branch Road, and more than 50 rounds on Arvey Road. One round that was fired on Beaverdam Branch Road entered a home over a quarter mile away and lodged in a wall. A woman was sleeping inside the home at the time but was unharmed.

In addition to the Laurel Police Department, the Delmar Police Department, the Georgetown Police Department, and the Delaware Department of Transportation assisted the state police with this incident.