Family was worried about man’s mental health before deadly North Carolina standoff

Family members say they suspected 32-year-old Isaac Barnes had mental health issues and reported their concerns to law enforcement in the days leading up to a standoff in Western North Carolina that left five people dead.

Barnes, who is accused of killing his mother, stepfather and two Watauga County sheriff’s deputies during a 13-hour standoff in Boone on Wednesday struggled with paranoia and delusions the last two years, his sister, Sommer Barnes, told WCNC in a 24-minute interview she shared on her Facebook page over the weekend.

“I semi-accidentally gave a whole interview this morning,” she captioned the post. “As I’ve started to form full thoughts again, though, this is most of what I’ve wanted to say.”

Their father, Joseph Barnes, also called law enforcement three days before the deadly siege to report his son had tried to attack him with a knife, The Associated Press reported.

Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman did not respond to McClatchy News’ request for information on Monday about the extent of law enforcement’s previous interactions with Barnes. But Hagaman told reporters Thursday his office received calls from family members concerned Barnes “might try and do something.”

He said Barnes had access to a “fairly large cache of weapons” and deputies were told to “be on the lookout.”

At least three deputies went to 553 Hardaman Circle in Boone shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday after George Ligon’s boss called to report he didn’t show up for work and wasn’t answering the phone, officials said. Deputies reportedly saw the family’s cars outside and went in.

K-9 Deputy Logan Fox, 25, and Sgt. Chris Ward, 36, were shot shortly after entering the house, according to the sheriff’s office. Hagaman told reporters a third deputy also went inside but was able to retreat. Officials said Ward died at Johnson City Medical Center in Tennessee, and Fox died at the scene.

Isaac Barnes and his mom, 61-year-old Michelle Annette Ligon, and stepdad, 58-year-old George Wyatt Ligon, were found dead inside after the standoff ended just before 11 p.m.

Public records show Barnes lived at 553 Hardaman Circle with the Ligons. But Hagaman said Barnes was “in and out a lot” and deputies didn’t expect him to be there when they arrived for a welfare check.

“They were trying to find him,” Hagaman said in an interview Thursday. “We were trying to get him away from some place where we could have more control over him. He just decided to take this route.”

‘He was just afraid’

Michelle and George Ligon were well known in the community, where Michelle worked for the tourism bureau, Explore Boone, and George was a branch manager at Terminix.

The couple had met and married “later on in life,” WBTV reported, and friends and family members described them as devoted to one another. A fundraiser to help pay for their funerals and other expenses had raised more than $32,000 as of Monday.

Sommer Barnes said her mom and stepdad “knew exactly how much they were loved.”

“I could never adequately express my gratitude for him coming into our lives, so gentle and patient,” she wrote on Facebook, describing George Ligon. “For loving my mother so completely and inviting us to be his son and daughter. He was humble and never cross and he enriched our family beyond measure.”

Sommer Barnes told WCNC on Friday her brother was living at home with their mom and stepdad while they tried to get him help. He was never formally diagnosed with a mental illness, she said.

“He was just afraid, really,” Barnes said. “And it would come and go the past couple years.”

She said Isaac Barnes had been summoned for jury duty before the standoff and thought it was “some sort of conspiracy to get to him.” He left town for a neighboring county, and their mom reportedly went to the courthouse to explain he wouldn’t be coming because of his mental health issues.

They were both afraid of what would happen if police or deputies found him after he skipped jury duty, Sommer Barnes said.

But she said she doesn’t believe the calls to law enforcement in the days leading up to the shooting were an effort to warn the public about her brother. She said her mom and stepdad were worried about their safety, her brother’s safety and the safety of law enforcement.

“She was going to law enforcement to make them aware of Isaac’s mental status because — not that she thought he was going to do something, but if they ever had to encounter him they should know that he was not really in his right mind and that he would probably see them as a threat,” Sommer Barnes told WCNC.

‘What do you do?’

Sommer Barnes said they had sought out family support groups but struggled to get her brother help. The more they pushed it, she said, the more he pulled away.

“What do you do, short of call law enforcement?” she said. “And then I was always nervous about involving law enforcement for many many reasons. ... Is that really the best way to make him feel safe? That’s not going to make him feel safe.”

Their father, Joseph Barnes, had called the Avery County Sheriff’s County on Sunday after Isaac Barnes allegedly pulled a Bowie knife on him, the AP reported. He was then referred to authorities in Watauga County because the incident reportedly occurred outside of their jurisdiction in the town of Matney.

Joseph Barnes was then faced with the decision of having his son arrested or pursuing involuntary commitment, according to the AP. Though he went to a magistrate judge, the sheriff told the AP he decided against involuntary commitment.

In an interview with Fox 46 over the weekend, George Ligon’s sisters said they had “little knowledge” of Isaac Barnes’ state of mind before the shootings.

“Now (I’m) wishing that three weeks ago I’d have been with him, sat down and said, ‘Hey buddy, are you OK? Let’s talk,’” Susan Sisk told Fox 46. “You know I just feel so sad that somebody didn’t get that opportunity to really see his pain and know that he was in such a horrible place.”

She said she told her 10-year-old granddaughter that “Isaac was sick, and that he was ill, and that he was sad and depressed.”

Sommer Barnes said she learned from a Facebook post about the siege and had to call police in Boone to confirm it involved her family. She reportedly discovered her brother was dead from a news article after the standoff ended late Wednesday and had to call law enforcement back to confirm her mother and stepdad had also died.

“I’ll keep it together but I’ll never forget my little family,” she told WCNC. “I loved all three of them so, so much, and I’m just so sad that it went this way.”

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