The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office are working to sort out the circumstances surrounding a nine-hour stand-off which ended in the death of a gunman in Cleburne County on Monday.
Cherokee County and ALEA are being brought in (as outside agencies) to investigate as part of standard procedure due to the fact that this was an officer-involved shooting.
The incident occurred in Ranburne and according to the town’s police chief, Steve Tucker, a woman apparently believed her husband had committed suicide, and when officers arrived and tried to knock on the door, the man fired a shot. A man claiming to be the individual in the home told media outlets by phone it was a “warning shot”, because he didn’t know who was trying to break-in.
By that time other law enforcement agencies had responded including the Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office, the Oxford and Bowden Police Departments and the Carroll County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office.
Reportedly, at one point, the man fired multiple rounds out of the house striking the Oxford Police Armored Carrier and a robot.
Oxford Police Chief Bill Partridge said law enforcement finally deployed gas into the home – the man was told several times to come outside unarmed with no weapons; however, when he did he came outside, he pointed the weapon at the officers, at which time they shot him,
The gunman’s identity has not been confirmed, pending notification of family.