KNIGHTSEN, CALIF. -- Three sheriff's deputies were shot and a suspect is dead in a shooting that followed an hours-long standoff in Northern California, according to a sheriff's office.

The shooting happened Thursday at a home in Knightsen, the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office said in a news release. The area is an unincorporated community about 50 miles (81 kilometres) northeast of San Francisco.

Deputies were called to a home for reported domestic violence just before 10 a.m., the release stated.

A woman who said she had been held hostage inside overnight was able to escape, while the man was barricaded inside, the sheriff's office said.

The release said the suspect shot at deputies throughout the day. The county's SWAT Team and hostage negotiation team spent the afternoon and early evening asking the suspect to surrender, according to the statement.

The suspect, who was not immediately identified, came out of the house just before 9 p.m. and shot three members of the SWAT Team, and the deputies returned fire.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. Two deputies were taken to a hospital. Their conditions were unknown.

The sheriff's office said more information would be release Friday.