An Alabama sheriff’s deputy shot and killed another office employee he had been dating before killing himself, authorities said.
According to Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry, Deputy Kenneth Boone shot and killed Alexis “Lexi” White on Thursday before turning the gun on himself.
The Cullman Times reported that White was a dispatch supervisor at the sheriff’s office and that Boone and White were in a “dating relationship.”
The shootings happened in Orange Beach, Alabama, according to WEAR. The pair were found by local police, the sheriff’s office said.
“When officers arrived, they located Lexi White and Kenneth Booth Jr. deceased from what appeared to be gunshot wounds. Preliminary investigation indicates that Mr. Booth shot Ms. White multiple times and then shot himself,” investigations’ Lt. Trent Johnson with the Orange Beach Police Department said in the statement.
“Our family here at the Sheriff’s Office is devastated,” Gentry wrote in a statement. “We are all in shock and saddened to our very core. Our hearts go out to the families of all those involved. I would ask that everyone join me in praying for the families, and for everyone here at the Sheriff’s Office.”
White had worked for the sheriff’s office since she was 16 and had been a charter member of its Youth Advisory Academy where she was both a participant and a coach, the sheriff said in the statement.
“There are not enough words to express what she and her family mean to me,” he said. “I am literally heartbroken. I feel like Lexi is one of my own kids.”
The Orange Beach Police Department is continuing to investigate the deaths, WKRG-TV reported.
Note: If you or someone you know is thinking of harming themselves, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free support via the Lifeline by dialing 988. For more about risk factors and warning signs, visit the organization’s official website.
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