Five dead in apparent Douglas murder-suicide involving family members

Police in Douglas are investigating a Friday night shooting that left five adult family members dead. Douglas Police Chief Brannen Pruette spoke on the case. The deaths took place at a home on the outskirts of the municipality.

Officials said the individuals involved were adult relatives of the shooter. The shooter died by suicide, according to officials.

“Investigators believe this was an apparent murder-suicide involving immediate family members who reside in the home,” Brannen Pruette said on Saturday.

Officers went to the residence shortly after 11 p.m. following an emergency call from a victim. First responders found a woman alive at the scene.

She died later at a hospital. Her death raised the total toll to five victims.

Police confirmed the same woman placed an emergency call earlier in the day. That earlier call brought officers to the residence.

“It’s my understanding the call was placed by the wife, the female victim. She called, and was complaining about the husband who was in the house smoking and she said he was killing her with the smoke,” Pruette said.

The city of Douglas sits about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta. Last weekend, gunfire killed two people and injured 35 others in Vienna during a high-school football event.

Douglas Police have not responded to inquiries seeking additional details. Vienna sits about one hour north of Douglas.