A spokesperson with the sheriff’s office told WRDW authorities responded to the suspect’s home, where they found a man dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police found Hawes after a pair of shootings left three women and two men dead in homes about half a mile from each other.
Advertisement
Columbia County Coroner Vernon Collins said three people were shot at one location in Appling, two of whom died at the scene; a third died at the hospital.
Authorities determined the shootings were related, based on witness accounts.Their investigation led them to Hawes, Shedd said.
Lauren Hawes said she hid with her 1-year-old daughter in a neighbor’s house while her dad, Wayne Anthony Hawes, went on his shooting rampage Friday night.
Hawes knew the victims and the shootings stemmed from a domestic incident, Mr Shedd said.
There, they found two more victims: 59-year-old Lizzy Williams and 62-year-old Shelly Williams.
Law enforcement was for Wayne Anthony Hawes, 50. Lauren Hawes did not say which of the victims was her grandmother or her cousin. They say he tried to set fire to the house as well. Captain Andy Shedd with the Columbia County Sheriff’s office says 50-year-old Hawes’ body was recovered Saturday by authorities in his northeastern Georgia home.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the shootings took place in two locations. Murray said she thought Hawes was a nice guy, but he made a “stupid” decision.
In the AP interview, Shedd said: “I’ve been with the Columbia County Sheriff’s office for 26 years, and this is the largest shooting in terms of victims that I’ve ever encountered”.
Advertisement
Lauren Hawes said her parents had known each since they were teenagers and had a common-law marriage.
