Police: Judge fatally shot himself after standoff near Miami

MIAMI -- (WPTV/AP) -- A Social Security judge shot and killed himself after an hours-long standoff with police at a home southwest of Miami, authorities said Friday.

Miami-Dade Police said Timothy Maher, 50, a disability judge at a downtown Miami Social Security Administration office, held three hostages for about 10 hours Friday inside the home.

SWAT team members and police officers surrounded the home, barricading off various streets inside the residential community lined with manicured lawns and adobe-style homes. For hours, hostage negotiators pleaded with Maher over mobile devices and a megaphone, asking him to release those detained inside the home including a school-age child.

The three hostages made it outside. They were described as family members but the exact relationship was not immediately clear.

Investigators said police heard a shot fired around 9 a.m. and officers finally entered the house. Police found Maher dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Maher had been arrested last week for domestic violence dispute involving his girlfriend. According to reports, he threatened the mother of his child with a rifle.