5 dead, including 2 deputies, after lengthy standoff in North Carolina

BOONE, N.C. – 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.

A tactical van from Caldwell County, North Carolina, sits on stand-by at a staging area in Boone, North Carolina on Wednesday. Law enforcement agencies responded to a standoff in Boone in which two Watauga County Sheriff’s deputies were shot and wounded. (Photo: Morgan Frances, WJZY via AP)

A Boone police officer also was hit by gunfire during an initial attempt to rescue the deputies, but he was uninjured due to his protective equipment, 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.

“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.

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‘Then they told me to get back in the house and stay’

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.

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