Police officers surrounded the South Trenton home on Friday after reports that some children hadn't been to school in 12 days. Officers say they entered the home through a back door and smelled an odor consistent with that of a decomposing body.
Officers found 38-year-old Gerald Tyrone Murphy in an upstairs bedroom, and he told them he was armed with a gun and explosives. Authorities retreated from the home, rescuing a 19-year-old from the basement, who said he hadn't seen his mother or sisters since about April 24.
The standoff ended at about 3:45 a.m. Sunday, 37 hours after it began.
At a news conference on Sunday, investigators said officers stormed the house and shot Murphy because he was threatening one of the children in the home. He later died of his injuries.
Authorities found the body of a woman and a 13-year-old boy inside the home. The woman's body was in an advanced state of decomposition, and police said she appeared to have died two weeks ago.
Three of her children - two females, 18 and 16, and a male, 4 - were rescued and taken to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
