Husband shoots wife, kills self after standoff in New Jersey; children rescued

CARLSTADT, New Jersey (WABC) -- A mother of three was killed by her husband, who later turned the gun on himself during a standoff with police in New Jersey.

Police were called to a home on Union Street in Carlstadt around 6:19 p.m. and found 44-year-old Michele Sabia dead outside.

After shooting Michele, Scott Sabia, 45, locked himself inside the home.

"It was pretty much chaotic. You see more, and then they are clearing the streets and pushing everybody away. It got serious quick in there. Once you see the SWAT Team coming in, you knew at that point, it was really out of hand and then they brought the rover in," a neighbor said.

Three children, ages 14, 11, and 9, were inside the home at the time, but were able to escape.

Officers lifted the children over a fence to safety.

"It was the responding officers who came to the scene initially and were able to remove the children from the area around the house and bring them to safety, and they should be commended for that. This tragedy could have been far, far worse, given the young ages of the children involved here," said Gurbir S. Grewal, the Acting Bergen County Prosecutor.

The Bergen County SWAT Team responded to the scene and tried to resolve the standoff, but they found Scott Sabia dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when they entered the home.

The children were not injured. Neighboring homes were evacuated during the standoff.