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Police in the Watauga County Sheriff's Office have identified 32-year-old Isaac Alton Barnes as the suspected shooter in a Boone, North Carolina incident that killed four people on Wednesday.
Barnes is suspected of shooting police K-9 Deputy Logan Fox, 25; Sergeant Chris Ward, 36; Michelle Annette Ligon, 61; and George Wyatt Ligon, 58, according to WJHL. Michelle Ligon was Barnes' mother, and George Ligon was his step-father, according to WTVD.
Fox died at the scene. Ward died after being flown to a Tennessee medical center for his injuries. Ward left behind a wife and two children.
Police said that they encountered the suspect on Wednesday morning when conducting a home-visit wellness check for the Ligons who hadn't appeared at work or responded to phone calls. Ward and Fox were shot upon entering the home.
Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman told WSOC-TV that he believed that the suspect had waited at the Ligons' home in order to "ambush" the police.
The suspect allegedly held a standoff with police for the next 13 hours, during which time he reportedly shot bullets at officers outside. During that time, law enforcement officers encircled the home and a bomb squad appeared on the scene. SWAT teams from across the state also came to assist.
Authorities evacuated nearby residents and told others to shelter in place with their doors locked and windows closed. A nearby school was locked down. Parents were allowed to pick up their schoolchildren, however. The standoff finally ended at 11 p.m. local time.
Democratic North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper noted the slain officers in a statement.
"We grieve for Sgt. Chris Ward, K-9 Deputy Logan Fox and the entire Watauga County law enforcement community today after these tragic deaths in the line of duty," Cooper said. "These horrific shootings that claimed lives and loved ones show the ever-present danger law enforcement can encounter in the line of duty."
An investigation into the shooting is being led by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
North Carolina has simultaneously been dealing with protests following the fatal police shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. Brown, a 42-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by deputies with the Pasquotank Sheriff's Office as they were executing an arrest warrant on felony drug charges.
A North Carolina prosecutor said Wednesday that Brown hit police officers with a car before they fired shots in the fatal encounter. Brown's family, who saw bodycam footage of Brown's lethal encounter with police, said that Brown hadn't been reaching for any weapons or making suspicious movements before police killed him.
Newsweek contacted the Watauga County Sheriff's Office for comment.
