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Two die after machete threat
24/07/2006 18:19 - (SA)
Rochester - Two men armed with machetes threatened a neighbour and then barricaded themselves in a house, setting up a stand-off with police that ended with the home in flames, officials say.
One man surrendered and two bodies were found in the home.
The stand-off began on Sunday afternoon after a report that Thomas Mason and a cousin had threatened a neighbour with machetes, Thurston county sheriffs spokesperson Bradley Watkins said.
When deputies arrived, the two men barricaded themselves in Mason's two-storey house, along with his wife, Watkins said.
A police commando team surrounded the house. On Sunday evening, after deputies fired pepper spray into the house, a fire broke out and Mason stumbled outside. The bodies were found hours later, after the fire was extinguished.
Mason, 39, is suspected of setting the fire.
The two found dead have been identified only as Mason's wife and cousin.
- AP
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