Loudoun Sheriff: Man shoots 2, turns gun on self

A Leesburg man entered a Loudoun County home early Tuesday and shot his estranged wife and another man, authorities said, then barricaded himself inside the residence for several hours before taking his own life.

Barry L. Gates, 45, entered his estranged wife's home at about 2 a.m. and fired several shots inside, hitting her and the other man, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday afternoon. Authorities did not identify the victims.

The injured man and woman were both taken to area hospitals with gunshot wounds, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Kraig Troxell. The man was described as in guarded condition, but Troxell said both he and the woman were expected to survive.

The incident unfolded in the pre-dawn hours at a house in the 3900 block of Irish Corner Road, a rural part of Loudoun County near the town of Lovettsville.

The injured pair each fled to different houses in the neighborhood after being shot, and sheriff's deputies were called. The gunman had locked himself inside the home. A team of negotiators made contact with him and tried to persuade him to surrender, Troxell said.

About 6 a.m., after the man stopped responding to their entreaties, the sheriff's deputies entered the house. They found the man dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Troxell said.