Two North Carolina deputies were killed by a gunman Wednesday leading to a nearly 12-hour standoff with police, after which three more people were found dead, the Watauga County Sheriff’s office said Thursday.
According to the sheriff’s office, Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox were sent to a home in Boone just before 10 a.m. Wednesday after the homeowner and his family didn’t show up to work and weren’t answering phone calls, The Associated Press reported.
At the home, both officers were shot, and while other police managed to pull Ward out, he later succumbed to his wounds at a hospital in Johnson City, Tenn. Fox died at the scene.
“The individual suspected of killing the two officers is also suspected of killing two civilians in the residence,” the statement said. According to Sheriff Len Hagaman, the two civilians who were found dead were the gunman’s mother and stepfather, WSOC-TV reported.
Hagaman also told the news outlet that the gunman opened fire on a Boone Police officer, Boone firefighter and an Appalachian State University police who were attempting to rescue the deputies. The Boone officer was hit, but was protected by his Kevlar helmet, Hagaman said.
The News Herald reported that Morganton Department of Public Safety Major Ryan Lander said the suspect apparently killed himself around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
“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.”
Law enforcement officers from approximately 15 agencies surrounded the gunman’s home, the sheriff’s office said, and neighbors were evacuated or advised to shelter in place as the standoff continued late Wednesday night.
Local resident Clarence Wilson, 78, was sitting on his porch when law enforcement arrived at the suspect’s house. Wilson said the gunfire started after the deputies arrived.
“Then they told me to get back in the house and stay,” he said.
Wilson said he later watched law enforcement pull a man from the house, but couldn’t determine who it was.
“I don’t know if it was a deputy or who it was,” he said. “I was just worried about keeping myself safe.”
Gunfire erupted once again around noon, Wilson said, while the house continued to be surrounded.
“We ain’t used to all this,” he said, noting that it’s a “real quiet neighborhood” that is home to a number of retirees like himself.
