A man is dead and his wife is in critical condition after a shooting in what police believe was an attempted murder and a suicide in western Isabella County Wednesday evening.

A 68-year-old man called 9-1-1 at around 5 p.m. and told dispatchers he had shot his wife but she might not be dead, said Isabella County Sheriff Michael Main.

The dispatcher then heard a gunshot, the phone went dead and officials could not reach the caller.

The Isabella County Sheriff’s Office set a perimeter around the couple’s home in the 10000 block of Brinton Road near Jerseyville Road in Rolland Township until members of a tactical team arrived a few moments later, Main said.

“We had to make sure we were ensuring our safety while weighing that there may be a person still alive inside the home,” Main said.

Within 10 to 15 minutes of the call, officers from the emergency team approached the home, looked in a window and saw a man who appeared to be deceased.

Officers entered the house, confirmed the man was dead, and then found his wife in a bedroom.

She had been shot multiple times but was alert and talking, Main said.

She was airlifted to a hospital in Grand Rapids where she is listed in critical condition.

Main said the couple lived in the house alone; he did not release names pending notification of family.

It appears that the man shot his wife multiple times with a handgun then shot himself, though no motive was obvious.

The man did not indicate to dispathcers why he shot his wife, and police had not yet found any information regarding motive Wednesday evening.

The only emergency response calls to the address in recent times have been medical in nature, Main said.

The ICSO was assisted at the scene by Isabella County Central Dispatch, Michigan State Police, Central Michigan University Police Department, Millbrook Rolland Fire, Mobile Medical Response, AeroMed and the Isabella County Road Commission.

Brinton Road between Jerseyville and Remick was still closed as of 8:30 p.m. Wednesday as the ICSO awaited the state police mobile crime lab to assist in gathering evidence.

Sean Bradley contributed to this report