Man shoots deputy today and is killed

The shooter, identified as James Monroe Barrett, 60, of 3659 Bethel Road, Jonesville, fired an AK-47 assault rifle at Wilkes Sheriff Chris Shew and Deputy Steven Russell, who were responding to a dispute provoked by Barrett. Bethel Road intersects with North River Ridge Road.

The incident began shortly before 6 a.m. when Barrett came into the home of Kent Suddreth and began firing a flare gun, Suddreth’s wife, Teresa, told reporters. One of the flares hit Suddreth in the stomach.

She said her husband noticed a truck on fire outside their home, apparently started by Barrett. When Suddreth went outside, Barrett began shooting at him with an AK-47. Mrs. Suddreth said her husband wasn’t hit by bullets.

The sheriff’s office has released a 911 tape from Kent Suddreth, a call that triggered a manhunt and the eventual killing of the shooter.

“I’ve been shot on North River Ridge Road,” Suddreth said, calling for help from his residence. “They’re shooting fireworks or something and they hit me in the gut. I have no idea what’s going on.”

One of the bullets struck the Suddreths’ neighbor, Zachary Hill Myers, in the neck, Carson said. Myers is chairman of the National Dairy Board.

Shew and Wilkes deputies quickly came to the scene. As soon as Deputy Kyle Welborn got there, Barrett began firing at and hitting the patrol car. Welborn was able to get to the shoulder of the road and escape the vehicle, Carson said.

Shew arrived in his unmarked sport/utility vehicle moments later and was fired upon multiple times by Barrett, the chief deputy said. One of the rounds narrowly missed Shew, who was at the wheel, and fragments from another hit Russell, who was in the right rear seat. Deputy Chuck Brinegar, in the left rear seat, wasn’t hit.

Shew quickly drove away from the scene to a safe location, where the injured Russell could be flown by AirCare helicopter to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Russell was hit in the shoulder, Carson said. A bullet fragment also grazed his head near his eye. He underwent surgery at Baptist Monday night and is now home.

Myers’ father told reporters that his son is recovering at Baptist, but that he doesn’t know when he will be released. The bullet struck Myers’ neck and traveled upwards toward the back of his head, his father said.

Shew, in an interview Monday, said Barrett fired his rifle at the emergency helicopter as well.

Wilkes EMS was called to the scene around 6 a.m. after the shootings were reported.

Barrett used a flare gun to set Suddreth’s house on fire before fleeing into some nearby woods, Carson said. The brick home burned to the ground and multiple vehicles outside the residence were burned.

Barrett was pursued by deputies. A resulting manhunt involved some 50 to 60 officers from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the Wilkes, Yadkin, Surry and Caldwell sheriff’s offices, the Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro police departments, the N.C. Highway Patrol and the N.C. Wildlife Commission.

“We did our best to contain (Barrett) in that perimeter” around the scene so he couldn’t escape, Carson said. He noted that all officers and emergency personnel, including Wilkes EMS and Wilkes Rescue Squad members, used Bethel Baptist Church’s adjacent fellowship hall as a staging area. North Ridge Road was blocked off by officers for most of the day.

Tactical team officers from the Wilkes Sheriff’s Department, the Wilkesboro Police Department and the SBI made contact with Barrett, who was eventually shot to death.

Carson said a woman and two children were in a house across the street from the Suddreth residence, so a decision was made to get them out, Carson said.

When the officers got to the burning residence around 10:30 a.m., Barrett began firing at them. The officers returned fire and Barrett was wounded in the chest and died at the scene, Carson said.

“This was a calculated entry” because of the threat to the woman and children, the chief deputy said. The situation with Barrett had continued deteriorating through the morning “and it was time to go get him,” Carson commented.

When the area was secure, Ronda firemen were able to go in and extinguish the remnants of the Suddreths’ burned home.

Carson noted that the Red Cross provided drinks so officers and others could stay hydrated during the very hot morning. Only one officer was overcome by the heat.

“As a whole, I think everything went as well as possible under the circumstances,” Carson said. The massive turnout by local and state law enforcement officers “was a tremendous amount of help to us. We all came together as a team.”