3 people dead after hours-long standoff at Arkansas home

HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. – Authorities say a nearly seven-hour standoff at an eastern Arkansas home ended when state troopers shot and killed an armed man suspected of killing two women who were found dead in the front yard earlier that day.

The State Police identified the man killed Tuesday evening as 37-year-old Raymond Lewis Williams Jr. and the slain women as 40-year-old Christine Fulmer and 28-year-old Deanna Thomas Banks.

Police say the women were found dead Tuesday in the front yard of Williams’ home in Helena-West Helena, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) east of Little Rock. The city’s police chief, James Patrick Smith, told Memphis, Tennessee, television station WMC that investigators believe Williams shot them before barricading himself inside.

State Police say troopers tried to communicate with Williams for hours before they used tear gas in the home. They say Williams emerged from the home with a rifle and a shootout ensued, resulting in Williams’ death.

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This story corrects Christine Fulmer’s first name and age.