Two Watauga County deputies and three members of a family were killed in a Wednesday shooting that prompted a standoff outside a Boone home that lasted for much of the day, authorities said.
The Watauga County Sheriff's Office said Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox were ambushed when they went into a home on Hardaman Circle on Wednesday morning after the homeowner's employer requested a welfare check.
Fox died at the scene, while Ward died at Johnson City Medical Center across the state line in Tennessee.
The ensuing standoff lasted roughly 13 hours, ending just before 11 p.m. Afterward, authorities found Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, and his parents, George Wyatt Ligon, 58, and Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, dead inside the home.
The ensuing standoff lasted roughly 13 hours, ending just before 11 p.m. Afterward, authorities found Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, and his parents, George Wyatt Ligon, 58, and Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, dead inside the home.
"I love and miss them all so much," Sommer Barnes said Thursday, confirming that her brother, mother and stepfather were dead.
A Boone police officer was also hit by gunfire during the incident but his Kevlar helmet prevented any injury, authorities said.
“If he might have been a couple inches taller, it might have been a different story," Boone Police Chief Andy Lebeau said.
Isaac Barnes is suspected of killing both his parents and the two deputies, authorities said.
Sheriff Len Hagaman said the people who knew Isaac Barnes had called authorities last weekend to warn that he could pose a danger.
"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 said.
Authorities were never able to locate Isaac Barnes, however, and didn't expect him to be at the house on Wednesday morning.
"We were trying to get him away from someplace where we could have more control over him," the sheriff said. "He just decided to take this route."
2 deputies, suspected gunman, his parents dead after 13-hour standoff in Boone :: WRAL.com
I just can't understand how all of the Crime Watchers missed this story. Harmonica, Death Angel, Green Hornet, Excalibur what's happening fellas are you losing your touch. Oh wait it was a white gunman, that's the key to it.
Guy murders to deputies, kills his mother and father and then the coward kills himself. Is this guy a feral animal, thug or savage?
The Watauga County Sheriff's Office said Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox were ambushed when they went into a home on Hardaman Circle on Wednesday morning after the homeowner's employer requested a welfare check.
Fox died at the scene, while Ward died at Johnson City Medical Center across the state line in Tennessee.
The ensuing standoff lasted roughly 13 hours, ending just before 11 p.m. Afterward, authorities found Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, and his parents, George Wyatt Ligon, 58, and Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, dead inside the home.
The ensuing standoff lasted roughly 13 hours, ending just before 11 p.m. Afterward, authorities found Isaac Alton Barnes, 32, and his parents, George Wyatt Ligon, 58, and Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, dead inside the home.
"I love and miss them all so much," Sommer Barnes said Thursday, confirming that her brother, mother and stepfather were dead.
A Boone police officer was also hit by gunfire during the incident but his Kevlar helmet prevented any injury, authorities said.
“If he might have been a couple inches taller, it might have been a different story," Boone Police Chief Andy Lebeau said.
Isaac Barnes is suspected of killing both his parents and the two deputies, authorities said.
Sheriff Len Hagaman said the people who knew Isaac Barnes had called authorities last weekend to warn that he could pose a danger.
"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 said.
Authorities were never able to locate Isaac Barnes, however, and didn't expect him to be at the house on Wednesday morning.
"We were trying to get him away from someplace where we could have more control over him," the sheriff said. "He just decided to take this route."
2 deputies, suspected gunman, his parents dead after 13-hour standoff in Boone :: WRAL.com
I just can't understand how all of the Crime Watchers missed this story. Harmonica, Death Angel, Green Hornet, Excalibur what's happening fellas are you losing your touch. Oh wait it was a white gunman, that's the key to it.
Guy murders to deputies, kills his mother and father and then the coward kills himself. Is this guy a feral animal, thug or savage?
