Young families with children dominate Northridge Subdivision, off Ga. 140, just west of Adairsville, near the Floyd-Bartow County line. Riding toys, bikes and swings dot the landscape of this quiet, middle-class neighborhood.
But the streets were deserted Saturday afternoon, devoid of laughter and children at play. Only a few straggling motorists passed by. Many stared, as if in disbelief, at the house at 14 Ridge Road where police say earlier in the day Steve Thomas had gunned down his wife, Kristie, and a man who was driving her home, Richard Farar.
Thomas then turned the gun on himself. All three died.
Authorities have released some details about the incident, which occurred at about 8:55 a.m. Saturday.
According to a press release issued by Bartow County Sheriff Clark Millsap:
Thomas, 40, of 14 Ridge Road, was called to the house by his son to check on his brother, who was sick. Authorities are withholding the ages and names of the children. Kristie Thomas, 32, allegedly had left them alone. Thomas was waiting at home when she and Farar, 26, arrived in a vehicle Farar was driving.
As the vehicle pulled into the driveway, Thomas began shooting. Farar tried backing from the drive but received several gunshot wounds and died at the scene. Thomas then took his wife out of the car and shot her. She was taken to Cartersville Medical Center, where she later died from gunshot wounds.
Thomas died on the scene from a self-inflicted wound.
“It’s shocking,” said one neighbor, who like several other neighbors was taking his family away from the subdivision for a few days because of the incident. “It don’t seem like it’s real.”
The neighbor, who moved into the subdivision at about the same time as the Thomases, said he had never before seen Thomas act violently toward his wife
Post a Comment