MARION COUNTY, Tenn. — Six people are dead after a murder-suicide in Marion County, Tennessee Thursday night, according to News Channel 9.
Three of those killed were children. A seventh person was also shot and remains in the hospital.
The shooting happened at a home on Pine Street in the Sequatchie community, which is about 15 miles from the northwest Georgia border.
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According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, when officers responded to the home, it was on fire. The sheriff said it is unclear how many victims were shot. At least two died from smoke inhalation.
Sheriff Bo Burnett identified the shooter as Gary Don Barnett and some of the victims as Regina Barnett, the shooter’s estranged wife, two of the couple’s grandchildren, and another child. Another victim was Regina Barnett’s daughter, Brittany Perez.
The children’s ages have not been released.
The person who survived was shot three times.
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Burnett told News Channel 9 it’s one of the worst crime scenes he’s seen in his 43-year career.
“You hear about these things but this is one of the worst I’ve been involved in all my career as a law enforcement officer,” Burnett told News Channel 9.
News Channel 9 obtained documents that show that Regina Barnett told a judge that she was afraid of her estranged husband in 2022.
According to the documents, Regina Barnett said:
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“My soon-to-be (e)x husband threatened to shoot me and he verbally abuses me every day. He also threatened to shoot my dog. He also has anywhere from 50 to 60 guns in his room. I am afraid he will get drunk and shoot me.”
Barnett was charged with domestic assault in that case.
Regina Barnett was granted an order of protection, which was still in effect at the time of the murders, according to the sheriff.
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