ALEXANDER COUNTY, N.C. — An Alexander County woman is in the hospital after investigators said her son-in-law shot her in the face, then shot and killed her daughter. Deputies said the man shot and killed himself.
Deputies said Mary Darlene Tarlton called 911 around 7:20 p.m. Thursday saying that she and two others had been shot at the home on Chestnut Hunting Lodge Drive.
IMAGES: Scene of Alexander Co. murder-suicide
Dispatched officers found Brandy Nicole Thompson, 34, and Jonathan Wayne Thompson, 32, dead outside the Ellendale residence.
The incident happened near the couple's 4-month-old son, deputies said. The baby was not injured and is in the care of the Department of Social Services.
Deputies said Jonathan Thompson was the shooter.
Tarlton was transported to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for surgery. Her condition was not released.
"It appears the husband and wife had separated about a week ago," said Sheriff Chris Bowman. "We believe he returned to the house where he once lived with his wife, her mother and their infant son."
Close family friends said there was no evidence to point to any problems in the couple's relationship. They said she was excited she finally was a mother.
"She'd probably got everything she had wanted her whole life and now it's taken from her," said Carol Scott, one of Brandy's friends.
Scott put a sign outside her restaurant Friday in tribute to Brandy and asking for prayers for Darlene Tarlton.
"I hope that his grandmother gets better and will raise him and he'll be a fine young man," said Scott. "That's what i hope for him."
The sheriff said it's unclear exactly what led up to the shooting but investigators believe the man shot his wife's mother in the mouth, then his wife in the chest and then himself in the head.
The investigation is ongoing.