A Oklahoma woman and three children are dead after a standoff in the Tulsa metropolitan area, and police believe it was a murder-suicide.

Verdigris Police Chief Jack Shackleford said the incident began at about 4 p.m. when a woman alerted a passing patrol officer that she had been held captive in a garage by another woman with a gun, KOKI reported. The woman told the officer there were children in the home.

The officer made sure the woman was safe and called for backup. Several agencies, including a SWAT team from the Cherokee Nation, responded and surrounded the home.

Officers entered the home at about 7:30 p.m. and found the woman and the three children, ranging in age from 9 months to 11 years, dead.

Shackleford said a handgun was used. He also said officers had been called to the house several times in the past for mental health and domestic situations.

Police have not released the names of anyone involved.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is handling the investigation.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.

[Featured image: Shutterstock]