By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A former Macon County, Alabama, deputy held his girlfriend and a baby hostage before fatally shooting himself Tuesday evening, authorities said.
• The incident began just after 7:30 p.m. and lasted more than an hour, during which sheriff’s negotiators secured the release of the hostages.
• Sheriff Andre Brunson spoke with the suspect repeatedly before the self-inflicted shooting.
• The suspect had been fired about two months earlier following a domestic incident involving the same girlfriend.
MACON COUNTY, ALA. — A former Macon County deputy fatally shot himself Tuesday after holding his girlfriend and a baby hostage for more than an hour, officials said.
The incident began just after 7:30 p.m. when sheriff’s deputies were alerted that the former deputy was armed and restraining the woman at a residence, Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson said.
Officials said Brunson and other law enforcement members repeatedly called the suspect by phone and by name as they arrived at the scene, and negotiations continued for over an hour.
The sheriff was able to approach the home and secure the release of the woman and the baby, who exited the residence safely before the suspect shot himself in the chest, Brunson said.
Law enforcement rendered aid and transported the former deputy by air to a hospital in critical condition, and the circumstances surrounding his actions will be part of any follow-up reports.