Police: KY man killed 3 people before troopers fatally shot him following standoff
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- A caller told Adair County 911 their brother had been shot at a Chestnut Grove Road home.
- Ryan Sneed barricaded himself and shot at officers during a several-hour standoff.
- State police say three people were killed and Sneed was fatally shot by the response team.
A Kentucky man killed three people Monday before police shot and killed him following an hourslong standoff, according to Kentucky State Police.
The incident began around 11 a.m. local time when the 911 center in Adair County received a call from someone reporting that their brother had been shot a home on Chestnut Grove Road. State police said Adair County Sheriff’s Office deputies and another person went to the home, and Ryan Sneed, 38, of Columbia, opened fire.
The deputies and the other person took cover from the gunfire and were pinned down for several hours until state police’s special response team could rescue them from the scene, according to state police. Sneed barricaded himself inside the home, starting an hourslong standoff.
Officers attemped several times to convince Sneed to surrender. State police said Sneed periodically shot at officers, who returned fire on “several occasions.”
Shortly before 7 p.m., Sneed came out of the home armed with a gun, and members of the response team shot him, according to state police. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
While Sneed was barricaded inside the home, officers learned of threats made by Sneed to kill is family. State police said detectives conducted welfare checks at homes on Lakeview Drive and Henson Road in Adair County and found Sneed’s mother, 67-year-old Joyce Sneed, and Sneed’s aunt, 63-year-old Debra Clark, dead.
After Sneed was shot and killed by officers on Chestnut Grove Road, officers found Michael Curry, 37, fatally shot inside the home, according to state police. State police spokesperson Sherry Bray said Curry was an acquintenance of Sneed’s.
State police said no officers were hurt during the incident.
State Police Post 15 Det. Josh Dicken is investigating the deaths of Curry, Clark and Joyce Sneed, while state police’s critical incident response team is investigating the officer shooting of Ryan Sneed.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 12:53 PM.
