Georgia Shooting Suspect: Wayne Anthony Hawes Found Dead After Killing Five In Domestic Dispute

Georgia shooting suspect Wayne Anthony Hawes was alleged to have been involved in a domestic dispute in Appling, resulting in five deaths and a structure fire. However, before he could be arrested, he was found dead in his home from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

Hawes’ body was found by police on Saturday after canvassing several neighbors at two separate crime scenes. The suspect was 50-years-old, and the cause of the domestic dispute is unknown. Some sources allege that he snapped after finding out that his wife was divorcing him.

The shooting was initially considered separate incidents, with the list of victims growing from a single fatality to five in total. The fifth was brought to the hospital, where she died. It’s possible that one incident occurred at his home, and the other that of someone his wife may have been seeing.

The suspect in the Georgia shooting is believed to have started his rampage on Friday night, when authorities received a call about a domestic disturbance. By 10 p.m., it was confirmed to be two separate locations, five victims, and one gunman connected to both. Witnesses at both crime scenes helped confirm Wayne Anthony Hawes to be the gunman, and some of the victims related to his wife.

Captain Andy Shedd of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office has stated that the two incidents happened around 40 minutes apart, and the victims at the second shooting location were a man and a woman. Among the three in the first shooting were two women. None of the victims were Hawes’ wife. Given the time difference and the fact that the two shootings happened about half a mile apart, it doesn’t appear that the Georgia shooting suspect was in any hurry, indicating he may have traveled on foot.

Evidence found at the suspect’s home suggested that Hawes attempted to commit arson, possibly as a way of eliminating evidence. The attempt was unsuccessful.

The suspect was named after some investigation, with help from witnesses, and authorities proceeded to place surveillance on Hawes’ home. They entered the premises after midnight Saturday morning and found him dead in his garage.

Among the dead were Roosevelt Burns, 75, Rheba Mae Dent, 85, and Kelia Clark, 31 at the first shooting location on Johnson Drive. The second shooting revealed Lizzy Williams, 59, and Shelly Williams, 62, near the corner of Washington Road and Johnson. It is unknown what the relationship was to Hawes’ wife among the victims, only that she wasn’t among them.

Why Wayne Anthony Hawes didn’t attack his wife isn’t clear. It may have been that she simply wasn’t home, and one of her relatives relayed the news of the divorce to him.

Georgia man killed himself after shooting five people dead over impending divorce: report https://t.co/JaeyByFJWZ pic.twitter.com/JbpVX5XBaJ

— Raw Story (@RawStory) April 23, 2016

This is the second of two mass shootings in the United States on Friday, the first of which happened in Pike County, Ohio. Eight family members, including seven adults and one teenager, were shot execution style. The younger members of the Rhoden family were spared. Unlike the Georgia shooting suspect, the Ohio shooter or shooters are unknown for now, though one person of interest is in custody.

Unlike many shootings which hit the news in recent years, the Hawes shooting wasn’t an act of racism like the one at a South Carolina church last year.

Many facts are yet unknown in the Georgia shooting, though the prime suspect is no longer at large. It is unclear what Hawes’ wife may have done after discovering her late husband’s actions, or if she even knows yet. The cause of the house fire is still under investigation.

[Image via Morakot Kawinchan/Shutterstock.com]