MIAMI -- Suspended Miami Commissioner Art Teele fatally shot himself in the head in the lobby of the Miami Herald building late Wednesday afternoon.

Teele initially survived the shooting, and was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in extremely critical condition.

PICTURES: The Scene Of The Suicide

Teele, 59, had gunshot wounds to the head and before he was taken from the lobby, and he had lost a great deal of blood, witnesses said. A spokesman for the City of Miami Fire-Rescue Department, Ignatius Carroll, said Teele was found with two small-caliber holes in the back of his head. Initially, Teele responded to questions by blinking his eyes on command, he said.

According to witnesses, just after 6 p.m., Teele walked into the lobby, spoke calmly with a security guard and shook his hand. Then Teele took a pistol out of a bookbag and held it to his head.

VIDEO: Suicide Comes After Political, Legal Turmoil

The Herald's Web site says that Teele told the security guard to give a message to Herald columnist Jim DeFede. Teele said that he wanted DeFede to tell his wife that he loved her. The statement was unclear as to exactly whose wife Teele was referring to, but it seems likely he was referring to his own wife, Stefanie Teele.

Then when police arrived, he pulled the trigger.

About two hours later, at 7:50 p.m., Teele was declared dead. His wife was at his side when he died.

Many of Teele's colleagues and friends expressed sadness over his death. Others were angry.

"We can't ever have anybody to go into office and retire with dignity. They got to drag them down like they're pit bulls, like some kind of road kill," said Teele's friend, Paulette Simms Wimberly.

Columnist Fired

DeFede was fired just hours after Teele's death because he allegedly recorded a phone conversation with Teele without the politician's permission.

In the longest call, about 90 minutes before the shooting, Teele spoke very emotionally about his legal problems and various allegations that had been made against him, according to the newspaper.

SURVEY: What Should Have Been Done To DeFede?

"He was very upset," said DeFede, who has known Teele for 14 years. "He was not crying. But I would say the emotion in his voice was as if he's crying."

In their last call, Teele said he was at the Herald and leaving him a package, but did not sound particularly upset, DeFede said.

"I said to Art, 'Well is it urgent? Do you want me to come down there right now? Is it something I need to see tonight?'"

Teele replied no, and hung up. Soon after, he shot himself with what police said was a semiautomatic pistol.

In a statement released Wednesday night, Defede commented on his firing. The statement said in part, "In this tense situation, I made a mistake. The Miami Herald executives only learned about it because I came to them and admitted it. I told them I was willing to accept a suspension and apologize both to the newsroom and our readers. Unfortunately the Herald decided on the death penalty."

Local 10 News caught up with DeFede today outside his home and asked him about what happened. Click here to see what he had to say.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Miami Herald Comments On Death, Firing

Teele Embroiled In Legal Fights

The former commissioner faced a series of troubles over the past few years, including federal charges for money laundering and mail and wire fraud.

In the most recent charges, Teele was accused of helping a minority company win more than $20 million worth of electrical contracts at Miami International Airport, when the work ended up actually being done by a much larger, non-minority company.

If he had been convicted on the federal charges, Teele could have faced up to 20 years in prison.

Teele was convicted in March of threatening a Miami-Dade police officer. He was also awaiting trial on other fraud charges in state court.

Local 10 learned that Teele was going to be arrested this week on other state charges.

INTERVIEW: Teele Expose Writer Talks To Local 10

In the introduction to a cover story that came out in the Miami New Times Wednesday, reporter Francisco Alvarado wrote:

"Art Teele is a man of very big appetites, and because of them he is now in very big trouble ... the once-powerful politician is possessed of a seemingly insatiable craving for all things illicit -- adulterous sex, illegal drugs, bribery and extortion."