BOONE, N.C. (AP) — Two deputies were killed and three other people including a suspected gunman were found dead after a lengthy standoff in North Carolina, a sheriff’s office said Thursday.
The Watauga County Sheriff’s office said Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox were dispatched to a home in Boone at 9:44 a.m. Wednesday after the homeowner and his family didn’t report to work or answer telephone calls. Both were hit by gunfire. Other officers were able to pull out Ward, who later died at a hospital. Fox died at the scene.
“The individual suspected of killing the two officers is also suspected of killing two civilians in the residence. The names of the civilians are not being released at this time,” the statement said.
Updated with info about suspect and his parents who were among the dead
MOTHER & STEPDAD ISAAC BARNES pic.twitter.com/BVLGrohj3A
— SNOWFLAKE (@jawja100) April 29, 2021
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BOONE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff’s deputy was killed and another wounded in a shooting that prompted a standoff. The suspect apparently killed himself hours later, and authorities did not immediately release the condition of the wounded officer.
Watauga County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox were dispatched to a home in Boone at 9:44 a.m. Wednesday after the homeowner and his family didn’t report to work or answer telephone calls, the sheriff’s office said. They were hit by gunfire after entering the home, and while Ward was “extracted from the scene,” Fox remained inside, the statement said.
Morganton Department of Public Safety Maj. Ryan Lander told The News Herald just before 11 p.m. that the suspect appeared to have killed himself, the newspaper reported.
Sheriff Len Hagaman said Ward died at a hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee. He didn’t immediately release information about Fox.
“This is an incredibly tragic situation and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved as well as their families and our community,” Hagaman said. “I greatly appreciate the tremendous support we are receiving from law enforcement agencies across the region and the state.”
The sheriff’s office said officers from approximately 15 law enforcement agencies surrounded the home. Other people living nearby were evacuated or told to shelter in place as the standoff lasted throughout the day and Wednesday night.
Clarence Wilson, 78, was on his porch when deputies pulled up in front of the house across the street. Gunfire erupted after the deputies arrived, Wilson said.
“Then they told me to get back in the house and stay,” he said.
Wilson said he later saw deputies pull a man from the house.
“I don’t know if it was a deputy or who it was,” he said. “I was just worried about keeping myself safe.”
Wilson said he heard a second barrage of gunfire around noon as the house remained surrounded.
He said it’s a “real quiet neighborhood” with many retirees like himself.
“We ain’t used to all this,” he said.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
bless those officers and there families please pray for them.
What’s the bet, the thugs in BLM are DANCING over the news of those two deaths.
Police should pull out completely from 911 calls from “ethnic” communities. Let those bright eyed liberal kids from their liberal colleges with their liberal degrees in sociology intercede and negotiate with savages that have proven behavior patterns of violence and are accredited sociopaths.
AND that includes all fire services and EMT’s.
God Bless these officers and their families. One good thing, the perpetrator is dead, so he will not be out of prison in a week.
Does it have to happen EVERY day??
I too pray for the officers, the victims and their families. Officers put their lives on the line every day. Thank God for their service. How do you think think this situation would of played out if the defund police crowd sent in the social workers instead of the police?
There’d likely be MORE dead bodies.
Not a single word about the race of the shooter. I wonder why.
Because, RACE only counts/matters/gets mentioned IF THEY ARE WHITE.