A routine neighbor dispute over the use of ATVs in Byron, Georgia, turned deadly on November 6, 2016. Peach County Sheriff’s Deputy Daryl Wayne Smallwood, 39, and Sergeant Patrick Sondron responded to a 911 call about a neighbor reportedly threatening others with a firearm. After taking initial statements, the deputies went to the suspect’s home on Hardison Road to interview him.

As the two officers approached, the suspect, identified as Ralph Stanley Elrod, emerged and opened fire without warning. Both deputies were struck. Witnesses who had made the first call immediately phoned again to report that the deputies had been shot. Multiple law enforcement units responded; Elrod continued firing from behind a patrol car and was later shot and taken into custody. Sergeant Sondron died at a local hospital that day. Deputy Smallwood was critically wounded, placed on life support, and died two days later on November 8, 2016. Deputy Smallwood was a United States Marine Corps veteran and had served in law enforcement for more than a decade.

Did anyone in the Byron area see or hear anything that afternoon that could shed more light on what happened?