Early this morning, Lexington Police officers and other responders gathered a large presence for an incident near Athens Walnut Hill Pike in Athens, initially, in response to a call of a man and a woman trespassing on some property. When the responding officers arrived, the male suspect allegedly drew a gun and there was a standoff. Officers attempted to diffuse the situation, with the man threatening to harm himself. The matter ended when officers say the suspect critically wounded himself with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn pronounced the subject dead at the scene.
This incident caused interstate 75 from exit 99 to 104 to be shut down for almost 2 hours, while officers dealt with the matter and investigated. Traffic was stalled and backed up for miles. Southbound traffic was even forced to turn around and travel back to Athens exit in the northbound lanes. WBONTV viewers reported a long backup on this stretch of the road which caused a major traffic backup. The portion of the interstate has since been reopened.
