A North Carolina police officer and his K-9 were shot overnight Friday by a barricaded suspect who later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Oxford Police Department said it responded to a disturbance call just before 6:30 p.m. Friday, and the responding “officer was met by a rapid succession of gunfire” but retreated and called for back-up.

While the department didn’t identify the officer, friends said he was Corporal Daniel Allen, and he was hit in the leg.

The suspect continued to fire at the back-up officers who arrived. None of them were hit, but Allen’s K-9, Halligan, was struck multiple times while inside the vehicle. Both Allen and Halligan were taken from the scene to hospitals and are said to be in stable condition.

The stand-off, however, continued for several more hours as multiple agencies from the area, along with state law enforcement, responded to assist.

“After several hours and planning, Durham County Sheriff’s and Raleigh Police Department’s Specialized Units were able to determine that the suspect inside the residence had succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Oxford police said.

Police have not identified the suspect, but neighbors told WRAL that he was Jason Newton, a man who lived alone, loved gardening, and had recently lost his job.

“I came around here, and they said, ‘It’s Jason.’ And I was like, ‘What did Jason do?,'” one neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous and said she went to high school with Newton, said. “And they said, ‘He was stressed out. He lost his job. He just … he just lost it.'”

Other neighbors said Newton had been behaving erratically before he started shooting. One asked him if he was OK, but he ran into his house, broke out windows, and started shooting.

They all told WRAL Newton had no history of violent behavior they knew of.

The standoff finally ended around 3:30 a.m., the station said. In the morning light, a reporter described bullet holes in neighbors’ homes and vehicles, a guitar on the ground outside Newton’s home and shattered windows and broken blinds on the house.

“I can’t believe he did that because he’s always been nice,” said one neighbor. “He’s always talked to me. I just can’t believe he went off.”

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[Featured image: Richard Allen and Halligan/Oxford Police Department]