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Police say man shoots wife and kills himself after a SWAT standoff in Provo

Posted at 5:29 PM, Apr 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-22 23:17:33-04

PROVO, Utah – A man, later identified as Michael Skinner, took his own life after shooting his wife and taking part in a five-hour long SWAT standoff at his home in Provo.

It happened Saturday night around 10:15 in a quiet neighborhood near 1400 West and 500 North.

“To me the neighborhood is a great neighborhood,” a neighbor Paul. “We always said these are the nicest neighbors."

The neighborhood became an active crime scene. ”It was a very wild night,” Detective Nick Dupaix with the Provo Police Department said.

A neighbor, Paul, was at home with his wife and young daughter when they heard gun shots.

”I figured they were just fireworks or something,” Paul said.

Investigators say this all started as an argument between Skinner and his adult son. The dad had been drinking and things escalated and got physical.

“The son and his mother, they tried leaving the home in an attempt to let the father cool off,” Detective Dupaix said.

”The mother went back inside to get some shoes," Detective Dupaix said. "And when she went back inside she saw Michael Skinner with a gun.”

Skinner followed his wife, Courtney, back outside and started to shoot.

“Had a round that went through the door right there,” Detective Dupaix said pointing to a bullet hole in a truck door across the street.

Skinner then shot his wife, Courtney, three times.

”Courtney was saying, ‘please call the ambulance, I don’t want to die here on the driveway,'” Paul said.

At that point, neighbors call police, which led to a more than 5-hour standoff between SWAT and Skinner, who barricaded himself in his home.

When Skinner refused to exit the house, SWAT members fired tear gas into the home in an attempt to make the suspect incapable of fighting.

Hours later, things came to an end.

“At 4:39 this morning when SWAT entered the home, they found Michael Skinner dead,” Dupaix said. He had shot himself.

”I think he was a nice guy," Paul said, "But when he got drunk, you know, he got mean."

Courtney Skinner underwent a number of surgeries Sunday morning, and detectives say she is expected to be recover from her wounds.