At Dr. Jayprakash Patel’s office in Jemison.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: After a standoff involving about 40 police officers and sheriff’s deputies, a man suspected of shooting a 24-year-old woman in an apparent act of domestic violence has been apprehended in Jemison, Alabama.
A relative of the suspected shooter said he was taken into custody alive, but a county coroner has been called to the scene.
The Clanton Advertiser reported the gunman entered a doctor’s office, shot his victim with a small-caliber, and fled to a nearby home where he barricaded himself until 12:30 p.m. EST on Monday.
A man who said he is related to the shooter — and asked that his name not be used — told Al.com the perpetrator was once a Marine.
“He doesn’t have a history of any legal violence or anything like that,” the relative said. “We knew that he has had some issues in the past, but we didn’t expect this.”
The unnamed relative said the shooter had been going through a tough time. “I don’t know that there were any diagnosed issues or anything like that,” he stated.
City and sheriff’s officials said the shooting happened about 9:30 a.m. at the office of Dr. Jayprakash Patel in the 2400 block of U.S. 31 in Jemison.
Witnesses told Al.com a woman who lives next door to Patel’s office got into some kind of domestic incident with her ex-husband or ex-boyfriend. She subsequently ran into the doctor’s office screaming for help.
“The guy was trying to get her,” said Jose Arreola, who owns a tire shop across the street from doctor’s office. “The doctors came out to help her but he pulled a gun and shot her.”
A man believed to be the suspect wrote the following on his Facebook page this morning: “im sorry everyone, its been real, good bye and i love you all.”
He also wrote, “I dei today.” The Facebook page was taken down just before 11:30 a.m., per Al.com.
Court records indicate the man and his wife or estranged wife are in a court battle regarding child support for their 6-year-old son.