Sheriff: Le Center standoff with suspected domestic abuser ends in 'self-inflicted gunshot wound'

LE CENTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - Police say an overnight standoff with a man who allegedly assaulted and strangled his girlfriend ended with the suspect being found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

According to the Le Sueur County Sheriff, officers first arrived at a home on the 300 block of South Cordova Avenue in Le Center, Minnesota on a report of a domestic assault late Monday night. Upon arrival, officers spoke with a 37-year-old woman who said her boyfriend, Michael Elie, 38, had assaulted and strangled her. 

She also said Elie had a handgun and threatened to kill her or any law enforcement that responded to the house. 

The woman’s two children, ages 12 and 4, were also in the house at the time of the incident and hid upstairs. 

Officers were able to reach Elie by phone, but he refused to leave the residence. They did convince him to let the children out of the house. They were reunited with their mother. 

Officers say that, around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, they entered the house and found Elie with "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." 

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.