CAVE JUNCTION — Two people are dead after a hostage-taking standoff near Cave Junction ended in gunfire with law enforcement Monday.

In a press release, Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel said the standoff began to unfold at 6:19 a.m. when a resident of Pinewood Way called 911 to report her husband had threatened to kill her and was armed with a gun.

The woman said she was able to get out of the residence and go to a neighbor’s residence to call 911, but that a roommate had been unable to escape.

Daniel said hostage negotiators from the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety were sent to the scene along with both the city’s SWAT team and an Oregon State Police SWAT team.

At about 1:30 p.m., after having made contact by telephone with the husband, “shots were fired by both law enforcement and the male resident,” Daniel said.

“Both residents remaining within the home were located and pronounced deceased.”

Names were being withheld pending notification of next of kin, Daniel said, adding, “There is no further threat to the public stemming from this incident.”

The investigation has been turned over to the Major Assault Death Investigation Unit of Jackson County, Daniel said.

Earlier in the day, authorities declined comment on the standoff after witnesses reported numerous police vehicles, including SWAT-style vehicles, were seen heading toward Cave Junction.

Jeff Krska, resident in the 200 block of Pinewood Way, said he passed 15 or more law enforcement vehicles at a command post set up at Illinois River Forks State Park around 3:30.

He said that when he turned up Pinewood, he was stopped in front of his driveway by law enforcement, who didn’t divulge what was going on. They let him go home after confirming he lived there.

Krska said he subsequently learned there was a standoff involving a hostage at a residence down the street. He saw SWAT-style armored vehicles there.