GUNMAN KILLS SELF IN POLICE STANDOFF.

Byline: Theresa Moreau and Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writers

A 67-year-old man who earlier brandished a shotgun at sheriff's deputies serving an eviction notice fatally shot himself after a Special Weapons and Tactics team surrounded his Sylmar home Tuesday, officials said.

The incident began about 11:45 a.m. when Frank S. Haigh refused to leave his home of 21 years in the 13800 block of Astoria Street, authorities said.

The standoff continued for hours as police set up a perimeter, sent in a SWAT team and drove in an armored vehicle - all the while trying to coax Haigh out of his house, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.

After repeated attempts to communicate with the man by telephone and bullhorn, officers finally shot 30 canisters of tear gas into his home and made their way in, said Officer Jason Lee, an LAPD spokesman.

Officers found the man dead at 6:30 p.m. in the back of his home, Lee said.

``We tried our best to communicate with the suspect,'' Lee said.

On Aug. 20, Rosner Enterprises, Inc. foreclosed on Haigh's home, said a spokesperson for the county Assessor's Office. Haigh had purchased the two-bedroom house in 1976 for $46,000.

Neighbors said Haigh had been having problems since he found his wife, Amanda, dead in bed about 10 years ago.

``He just gave up after she died,'' said Margaret May, one of Haigh's neighbors. ``He grew a great big beard, stayed in the house and didn't have any electricity.''

May said Haigh rarely left his home, not even to retrieve his mail from the box where it piled up.

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Photo

PHOTO An armored vehicle was called in during a standoff with a Sylmar man who brandished a gun during an eviction attempt Tuesday.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News