Gilmer Co. Triple Shooting

Published July 13, 2010 at 8:33 a.m.

(WSB Radio) -- One man fights to survive as sheriff's investigators in Gilmer County work to identify a motive in bizzare shooting in the small north Georgia town of Talking Rock.

Two of Robbie Payne's neighbors died in the incident.  The gunman, identified by investigators as William Charles Givens, surrendered to authorities in Pickens County late Monday.

Gilmer County Sheriff Stacy Nicholson says it's the first murder in his community this year and he's still unsure as to what led to the shootin gin Given's home.

Nicholson says Givens lived next door to one of the victims and just down the street from the two others.  The four were in his home late Sunday night when the shooting happened.

"They were there, they were inside the house .  I don't know what the circumstance was of them being there," said Nicholson.

Nicholson says the surviving shooting victim, Robbie Payne escaped the gunfire to run next door to call for help.  When deputies arrived, they thought Givens was still inside his home. 

"We knew the person was armed ancertainly with the thought of hin being barricaded and thatwas the indication is that hew as still there," Nicholson said. "That's why we didn't make entry at that point."

Unbeknownst to authorities, Givens had fled his home and surrendered to authorities in Pickens County.  When the jail alerted the Gilmer County Sheriff's office, only then did they enter Givens home to find Wayne Poole, 46, dead and Laura Schell, 24, gravely injured.

Schell died later at a hospital.  Her family is shaken and in shock over her sudden death.  Nicholson says the entire community is shaken.

"Certainly this is not the thing that residents in this area and in the north Georgia mountains expect to have happen, and it does scare them," he said.

Givens is held in the Gilmer County jail.  Investigators plan to charge him with two counts of murder and one count of aggrivated assault.

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