The daughter of a northeast Georgia man suspected of shooting five people to death before killing himself says her father was a “ticking time bomb.”
Lauren Hawes on Saturday said that she, her mother, Angela Dent, and her one-year-old daughter hid in a neighbor’s house — barely escaping with their lives — while her father, Wayne Anthony Hawes, 50, went on a bloody rampage and killed five people, including her grandmother and cousin.
“He made threats before, but we never thought it would be at this capacity,” Lauren Hawes said. “He’s been kind of a ticking time bomb if you want to put in a few words.”
Captain Andy Shedd of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the Friday night shootings stemmed from a domestic dispute that left three men and two women dead at two separate locations within about 1.5km of each other.
The body of shooting suspect was recovered on Saturday by authorities in his home in Appling.
Lauren Hawes, 26, confirmed that the bloodshed was connected to a domestic dispute between her parents: Her mother had walked out on her father just a week ago.
Dent had left before — but this time, she took her possessions with her to prevent Hawes from destroying them as he had in the past.
After Dent’s departure, Wayne Hawes bottomed out emotionally.
“He’s done things that were questionable in the past, but never to this extent. This is very surprising. We thought he could possibly hurt himself, but not others,” Lauren Hawes said.
The rampage began on Friday evening, when sheriff deputies responded to a home at about 8pm and found three victims. Authorities then were called to a second home nearby, where two other victims were found.
“We believe the two shootings were related, based on witness accounts,” Shedd said.
When authorities reached Wayne Hawes’ house and entered, they found him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. They also found evidence that he attempted to set the house on fire.
The victims were identified as Roosevelt Burns, 75; Rheba Mae Dent, 85; Trequila Clark, 31; Lizzy Williams, 59; and her husband Shelly Williams, 62. One of the female victims died on the way to the hospital, Shedd said. The others were dead at the scene.
“We believe some of the victims were related to the suspect’s wife,” Shedd said.
Lauren Hawes said her parents had known each since they were teenagers, and had a common law marriage. She said Rheba Mae Dent was her grandmother, and Clark was her cousin. She said Roosevelt Burns was her grandmother’s brother. She said the family knew the Williams family from church.
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