Georgia sheriff, deputy wounded; 3 others killed after domestic dispute turns into 'ambush'

Three people were killed and a Georgia county sheriff and one of his deputies were wounded late Sunday after a domestic dispute turned deadly.

Deputies responded to a 911 call in Clarksville, Ga., about 85 miles northeast of Atlanta, at around 7:30 p.m. local time and found a woman dead in the garage of a home. Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Deputy Director of Investigations Rusty Andrews told WSB-TV that the officers entered the house to check for other victims, where "it appears they were ambushed."

Habersham County Manager Phil Sutton told the station that Sheriff Joey Terrell and Deputy Bill Zigan were shot and hospitalized. State Patrol Capt. Mark Perry said their injuries "don't appear serious." Late Sunday, WSB reported that Sheriff Terrell had been released from the hospital, while Deputy Zigan was expected to be kept overnight.

The suspected gunman has been identified as 41-year-old Anthony Giaquinta, a former Gainesville, Ga. police officer. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Giaquinta had recently been fired.

The GBI said that they believed that Giaquinta had killed his wife, 40-year-old Kathy Giaquinta Smith in the garage before the officers arrived.

A friend of Smith, 45-year-old Steven Thomas Singleton, was found dead outside the home, and authorities believe Giaquinta shot him as well.

Sutton told WSB that he thought the sheriff had responded to the domestic dispute because he knew Giaquinta and thought that he could calm him down.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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