A shooting suspect at the center of an hours-long standoff on Tuesday in Granville County has died.
WRAL News learned of the man's death on Wednesday morning from the man's brother. He said his brother, Bradley McCurdy died just before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
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Granville County Sheriff Robert Fountain spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon. He did not speak to a motive for the shooting, but noted deputies communicated with McCurdy, 56, in an effort to resolve the ordeal peacefully.
"We wished it could have turned out a little better, but it did not," Fountain said. "At 2:30 when we contacted him, he started making those conversations then that he was going to take his own life. He didn't want to hurt law enforcement, but we still tried to communicate with him to resolve it a different way."
According to the Granville County Sheriff's Office, the situation started around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday on Pine Ridge Road near Franklinton. Deputies learned of a shooting on Grand Oak Road and found that a woman and a man had been shot.
Police say a man shot the two, then barricaded himself inside a work truck on Pine Ridge Road.
The standoff ended when McCurdy shot himself, Fountain said. McCurdy was taken to the hospital and later died.
Fountain said the woman shot is in fair condition and the man is in critical condition at the hospital as of Wednesday afternoon. Their names were not released.
People nearby said the area is a small, quiet town and the ongoing investigation has shaken the community.
For Tekla Sykes, she said she was inside her home when the suspect first arrived on the street. She said that because he was right in front of her home, officers came to her back door to evacuate her and her son.
"I grabbed one baby bottle; I grabbed my baby obviously and went right out the door with the cops,” Sykes said. “They surrounded me and him and got us out through the woods."
Sykes said there were dozens of squad cars and SWAT vehicles on the street. She was alarmed when she saw deputies get out of their cars with guns already drawn.
"They were telling him to drop his gun and get out of the vehicle,” she continued.
The brother said that the victims and the suspect knew each other.
"To know that somebody would hurt him over just something simple that could have been talked about is just really heartbreaking," said neighbor Ashley Waite.
Brent McCurdy, the brother of Bradley, said he hasn't slept or eaten since hearing the news.
"He kept stating that he was sorry," Brent said. "He loved everybody, his family and friends and that he's sorry that just took place and is sorry that he has to do what he has to do to himself."