BOONE, N.C. A married couple found dead along with a suspected gunman after a 13-hour standoff at a North Carolina home were members of the same family, a sheriff s office said Thursday. Two deputies also were fatally shot in the home. The Watauga County Sheriff s Office said George Wyatt Ligon, 58, and Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, were killed Wednesday inside their home in Boone. A sheriff s statement said the suspect, Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, also was found dead at the home and had a large number of weapons. Barnes was identified as Michelle Ligon s son and George Ligon s stepson. Authorities said Barnes was suspected in the fatal shootings of two deputies who had been dispatched to the home Wednesday. Sgt. Chris Ward died at a hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee, after Wednesday s shooting while K-9 Officer Logan Fox died at the scene, the sheriff s office said.
5 dead, including 2 sheriff’s deputies, in North Carolina standoff, officials say
A 13-hour standoff in North Carolina ended late Wednesday with five dead, including two deputies and the shooter, officials said.
K-9 Deputy Logan Fox, 25, died at the scene, and Sgt. Chris Ward, 36, died at Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee, the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office identified the suspected shooter as 32-year-old Isaac Alton Barnes, who also died at the scene. He’s accused of killing the deputies as well as his mother, 61-year-old Michelle Annette Ligon, and stepfather, 58-year-old George Wyatt Ligon.
A Boone police officer was hit with gunfire during a rescue attempt but was uninjured.
Sheriff: Suspect, 2 others in family among dead in N.C. standoff Associated Press Text size Copy shortlink:
BOONE, N.C. A married couple found dead along with a suspected gunman after a 13-hour standoff at a North Carolina home were members of the same family, a sheriff s office said Thursday. Two deputies also were fatally shot in the home.
The Watauga County Sheriff s Office said George Wyatt Ligon, 58, and Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, were killed Wednesday inside their home in Boone. A sheriff s statement said the suspect, Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, also was found dead at the home and had a large number of weapons.
Sheriff Len Hagaman told
WRAL that people who knew Barnes had called law enforcement last weekend to warn them that he was dangerous and had
‘a lot of guns.’
Hagaman said Barnes appeared to have a plan for
‘taking people out’.
‘They were just kind of giving us the heads-up – this is what he’s thinking about doing – and for us to be careful,’ Hagaman told the outlet.
Deputies were un-able to locate Barnes until he showed up to the house on Wednesday – and officials suspect he may have planned to target members of the public but was kept in the home by the officers who died.