HIGH POINT, N.C. — Early Saturday morning, a woman shot and killed a man she said charged at her with an ax, according to the High Point Police Department. The shooting happened at a house in the 400 block of Hickory Lane in High Point. Police found the man in the backyard of the house dead from a gunshot wound.
The shooting is still under investigation.
Neighbors said the law enforcement presence and criminal allegations have left them shaken.
"It was chaos, it was scary, to see that many police, fire trucks, and everything in the neighborhood, because we didn't what had gone on, what had happened," Laurie Allen told WFMY News 2 on Saturday.
Allen, who has lived in the neighborhood for about 20 years, said many families in the area are older with adult children. "What we were told at the time was that it was a hostage situation in our neighbor's house. And that was frightening thing because we know her," said Allen.
The incident began Friday when officers went to the same house on a separate domestic violence call. While on the scene, the woman said she was assaulted by a man who was believed to be drunk. She said the man assaulted her by grabbing, choking, and pushing and shoving her several times.
Officers were prepared to enter the home to arrest the man but learned the suspect may have had a gun. A perimeter was established, and the police department's tactical team was called to the scene.
"Someone from the police department actually called me on my cell phone to make sure that husband and I were OK. If we were in the house, turn off the lights, and don't look out the windows," Allen said.
After several attempts to contact the suspect, a search warrant was executed at the house, but the suspect had fled and was not there. Police learned the man had left while officers were in contact with the victim.
"It was just like, 'Wow,' something out of the movies, but it was a scary thing also because once we found out he had gotten away, now you've got to come back home and worry: Is he still around?," Allen said.
Less than two hours later just after 4 a.m., police said the woman called again. But this time, the woman told dispatchers she shot the man after he came back inside her home and "charged at her with an ax," according to High Point police.
When police officers arrived, they found the woman and her daughter safe. The man was found dead in the backyard from an apparent gunshot wound.
The man's name has not been released, pending notification of next of kin, police said.
The woman has also not been charged with a crime at this time.
Neighbors said law enforcement had the home surrounded with crime scene tape until about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
As of 4:30 p.m., the neighborhood was quiet with no outward signs at the home of the incident.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call Detective Yokely at 336-887-7860 or Crime Stoppers of High Point at 336-889-4000.