Cops: Man fatally shot wife at Ala. doctor's office
JEMISON, Ala. -- A woman fighting with her husband ran into a doctor's office and begged the staff to call the police before the man shot her dead, ran to their home nearby and holed up there during a lengthy standoff with police, officials said Monday.
The couple lived near the doctor's office, and 24-year-old Leaj Jarvis Price apparently fled there from their home in small-town Jemison because it was the closest place to go, police chief Shane Fulmer said.
"The first thing she said when she came in was, 'Call the police,'" Fulmer said. He said six to seven people -- all employees, including the doctor -- were in the office at the time.
Eric Heath Price, 25, followed her in and shot her in the head, then returned home, Fulmer said.
There, police talked to him over the phone and a loudspeaker. Police didn't shoot any bullets but fired tear gas into the home, Fulmer said. The man came outside and had a gunshot wound to the head. Fulmer called it self-inflicted but said police didn't know exactly when it happened.
Price was taken to a hospital and has been charged with murder, Fulmer said.
He said the couple have a 6-year-old son. The boy was away from home at school on Monday.
After the shooting and during the standoff, roads and businesses were closed. At least 10 police cars were on the scene. Ambulances blocked the highway in front of the building, with rescue personnel going in and out.
Local schools went on lockdown.
At the standoff scene, there was a series of loud pops near the house. Within moments an ambulance pulled up, and emergency workers could be seen loading a person into the back of the ambulance. The ambulance then left with its siren on.
After the ordeal, the house was surrounded in yellow police tape.
James Russell Curl, who manages a McDonald's restaurant about 200 yards from the doctor's office, said he had heard a gunshot and police began arriving within moments.
"It's a little scary," Curl said.