A Mills man found dead following a Tuesday night standoff shot at his girlfriend and their son before turning the gun on himself, police said Wednesday.

The shot, fired by 50-year-old Robert Brickerd, missed the woman and boy and struck her vehicle, Mills police Lt. Phil Crouch said. Both escaped without being hit.

Neighbors reported hearing a second shot within a couple of minutes, leading police to believe Brickerd killed himself soon after.

The incident began at about 4 p.m. Tuesday when Brickerd and his girlfriend got into a dispute inside a Mountain View Drive trailer home where he lived.

The woman tried to call 911 and Brickerd took the phone from her, Crouch said. While she and the boy were leaving, Brickerd fired one shot from a black-powder pistol, hitting her vehicle.

The woman and the boy ran away and were later picked up by officers, who took them to the Mills Police Station. They were not injured except for a strained hand the woman suffered during the dispute.

Not knowing that the man had killed himself, police tried to contact him at the home. When he did not respond, the Natrona County Special Response Team arrived, and officers set up a perimeter around the home.

Police negotiators tried to call Brickerd and got a busy signal because the phone was off the hook, Crouch said. Authorities had the phone company break into the line, and they could hear police scanners and radios inside the house.

After officers could not make contact with Brickerd, a SWAT team entered the home and found him dead inside. He used the black-powder pistol to kill himself.

The entire incident lasted about three hours.

Reach crime reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.

The following video, "Mills standoff ends in death," comes from the night of the standoff, Feb. 10, 2009.