State police in Mercer County arrested a woman who held them at bay for several hours last night, threatening to shoot herself and troopers who surrounded her home.

Debra Renee Couch, 43, of Jackson Center, told troopers she had a loaded handgun and that she was going to kill herself, police said.

State police arrived at the home, in the 200 block of Jackson Center-Polk Road in Worth, about 2:30 p.m. and remained there for several hours while troopers persuaded Ms. Couch to emerge.

During the standoff, officers heard shots from within the house.

She was charged with aggravated assault against a 46-year-old man, whose name was not released, and will be arraigned on those charges today. She was taken to the Grove City Medical center last night, police said.