A lieutenant at Barrow County Emergency Services and his pregnant daughter remained hospitalized early this week following what appeared to be an accidental Christmas Day shooting in which both were maimed by the same bullet.
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said a family argument between Lt. Todd Orr and two of his daughters culminated in violence shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday, when the career firefighter grabbed a loaded, .270-calibre hunting rifle in his bedroom.
Though he later told deputies he had intended to leave the house and to take his gun with him, his daughters believed he was going to commit suicide, Smith said.
As the two young women and a male relative struggled with Orr over the rifle, it discharged.
The sheriff said the high-velocity cartridge first hit the arm of Orr’s 21-year-old daughter, Tiffany Thomas, whose first baby is due in a couple of weeks. It then tore through Orr’s hand, ripping off some fingers, and entered his abdomen, traveling up and out of his chest.
“One shot was fired,” Smith said. “This was a very fast traveling bullet. So that did some damage.”
Orr and Thomas were both transported to Athens Regional Medical Center, where they underwent surgery.
Surgeons amputated the young mother’s partially severed forearm and she has had additional surgical procedures, according to the family’s online postings.
“They’re recovering from very serious wounds,” Smith said, noting that the unborn baby appears to be OK.
The incident is still under investigation and the sheriff said sorting out precisely what happened has been complicated.
Family members involved in the shooting have told investigators different versions of what transpired. And Orr’s daughters have been unwilling to point the blame at their father, Smith said. Still to be determined is what sparked the argument that led to the shooting, how the gun could have been positioned in order to cause the injuries that it did, and who exactly pulled the trigger.
Smith said the family has told investigators that they had celebrated the holiday at a relative’s house and had arrived at the Orr home on Moon Bridge Road, when the argument began around 4 p.m.
“A drinking glass was thrown at Todd,” Smith said. “He threw a beer can at Tiffany and allegedly goes into the bedroom, and gets a gun… “None of the people we interviewed can say who pulled the trigger. We’ve got three people pulling and jerking this thing and trying to get the gun away from Todd and it goes off.”
The sheriff said that despite the severity of his wounds, Orr was “walking around coherent” when deputies arrived.
“It’s lucky no one died,” Smith said. “Anytime this happens, on any day, it’s tragic. It’s even more tragic on Christmas Day. It’s just terrible.”
The sheriff said some emergency services personnel responding to the scene did not initially realize they were being called to the home of one of their own.
“From what I understand, there was a big outcry,” Smith said. “The Orr family is very well known in Barrow County.”
Though the gun may have been fired unintentionally, criminal charges are a possibility, Smith said. But District Attorney Brad Smith would be consulted before that decision is made, the sheriff said.
“Once we get through investigating, we are going to consult with the DA to see if charges are going to apply for this case,” the sheriff said.
Since news of the incident broke Sunday morning, some local bloggers have strongly questioned why Orr was not immediately charged with a crime. But the sheriff said that with Orr “quarantined” at the hospital and under around-the-clock supervision, it wasn’t necessary for the sheriff’s office to take him immediately into custody.
On Tuesday, a Barrow County deputy did transport Orr to another facility for “after care,” Smith said.
Because of medical privacy laws, hospital personnel did not disclose what type of care Orr is to receive at the second facility. But the sheriff said Orr has not been arrested and a hospital typically requests assistance from the sheriff’s office only when a patient is being admitted to another facility for a mental health evaluation or treatment.
Orr has been employed by Barrow County Emergency Services since 2005 and previously worked for the Winder Fire Department. He was among 17 recent applicants for the vacant fire chief position that is to be filled in January.
Barrow County Commission Chairman Danny Yearwood said Tuesday that although he initially planned to order an immediate internal investigation of the incident, he has decided to wait until the sheriff’s office takes action on possible criminal charges.
Over the past few days, Smith has been criticized by some local bloggers for not arresting Orr immediately after the shooting. While acknowledging that he has known Orr for years, the sheriff said that factor has played no part in determining his office’s actions.
“I will tell you this,” Smith said, “in this sheriff’s office, it is my policy to investigate every crime to the best of our ability and to attempt to present a reasonable, lawful case to the DA’s office for prosecution in the court system. We don’t play favorites here. We investigate the case, attempt to find probable cause and move forward.”
Interim emergency services chief John Skinner said Monday that because of the ongoing investigation, he could not comment on the incident other than to ask that “everyone continues to support and pray for the Orr family during this difficult time.”
