Woman fatally shot in Ringgold home

photo Emergency personnel remove the body of a shooting victim from a Ringgold home.

RINGGOLD, Ga. - The ex-girlfriend of a Ringgold homeowner fatally shot another woman in the house Friday, Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk said.

Sisk spoke Friday afternoon outside the house at 227 Smoke-tree Circle, where the shooting happened about noon.

He didn't give any names, but said the woman who fired the weapon was a former girlfriend of the homeowner, who was at work.

The woman told investigators she heard strange noises inside the home. She called out twice and got no response, Sisk said.

The woman retrieved a pistol from the bedroom and went into the hallway, where she said she saw a "darkened shadow in the area of the hallway that appeared to have something in their hand," and she fired, according to a news release. The victim died at the scene, and the homeowner and ex-girlfriend reported the shooting to police.

Sisk said investigators don't know what relationship the victim had to the two others.

While police carried evidence out of the house Friday night -- including multiple large firearms -- some neighbors huddled on porches to watch from afar, while others returned inside as it started to get dark.

Next-door neighbor Ashley Dunaway, 19, said the ex-girlfriend had been living with the homeowner. Sisk said the homeowner and ex had been in an on-again, off-again relationship.

Dunaway said the homeowner is like a father to her.

"He's like my dad pretty much," she said. "Like if I needed him, just come knock on his door."

She also said that the ex-girlfriend has several children.

"They're really, really good people," she added. "Like, he works 24/7."

Emily Dobson, 18, a neighbor and friend of Dunaway's from high school, heard about the incident on the news and at first thought it was Dunaway's house. She ran down to check that Dunaway was OK, and hugged her when she saw her.

"Nothing like this has happened here before," Dobson said.

Contact staff writer Hannah Smith at hsmith@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6731.

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