Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch issued the following statement Thursday following the tragic death of a 2-year-old boy shot by his father in a murder-suicide:
“This morning our Deputies responded to a domestic violence call that ended in the worst possible way, with the death of a child. First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to the child’s family, and we ask that our community do the same. During the course of this incident, the perpetrator fired upon the Deputies, who in turn demonstrated remarkable restraint by not returning fire out of concern for the safety of the child. They quickly contained the situation to ensure that no other lives were put at risk, and they undertook efforts to bring the incident to a peaceful resolution. Unfortunately, the perpetrator did not allow that to happen, as he made the decision to take the life of his own son before taking his own,” Sheriff Couch said.
Couch continued, “This tragedy, as well as last week’s fatal shooting, serve as a somber reminder of how serious the issue of domestic violence is in our community. It is a rare day that an Officer in any jurisdiction works an entire shift without responding to a domestic-related call, many of which involve some form of physical violence. This is why the partnerships we share with agencies and organizations that work to combat domestic violence are critical. We want to emphasize that there is hope for those who find themselves in domestic violence relationships, as we have resources available that can be of assistance to victims to help them safely escape the situation, and hopefully avoid a tragedy similar to what we’ve seen today.”
Police: Father, shoots, kills 2-year-old son in murder-suicide
file photo
