East Point police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide that took place Sunday morning outside a Wal-Mart involving a former Fulton County sheriff's deputy.
Shaleka Spoon, 36, of Fairburn, was shot and killed on her way into work at the Wal-Mart on Cleveland Avenue about 4 a.m.
Police said a man, who was later identified as 39-year-old Christopher Bernard Jones of Fairburn, shot Spoon and then himself. They were in the parking lot of the store.
Spoon is a former Fulton County sheriff’s deputy and a mother of one son and two daughters, officials with the sheriff’s office confirmed Monday.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Tuesday offering condolences to the family of their former deputy.
"Ms. Spoon’s high level of professionalism was perfectly complimented by her warm disposition. Colleagues knew her to be a dedicated mother and a dependable team member. She enjoyed volunteering her time to help others and participating in events such as the annual Sheriff’s Employee Appreciation Picnic."
Spoon spent seven years with the agency, rising through the ranks and demonstrating her intelligence and dedication to service, sheriff's office spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said.
She started with the agency as a sheriff security specialist in August 2007. She graduated from the academy and later was promoted to deputy sheriff in May 2014. She resigned in the fall of 2014, Flanagan said.
A friend and former co-worker, Brittney Butler, said Spoon and Jones were married.
They were each other's first loves and he was the father to her three children, family friend Ginger Bryant said.
Spoon had been working at the sheriff’s office for several years when Butler started in 2011. Butler described Spoon as a hard worker who would do anything for her partners.
“She was overall an amazing person to be around,” Butler said. “You could talk to her about anything.”
Bryant said Jones was in college for criminal justice and due to graduate in May.
"She was a beautiful spirit and a great mother," Bryant said. "I don't know how this happened."
