UPDATED: Officers found bloody scene when responding to shooting

The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·3 min read

May 20—A woman who was shot Tuesday morning had part of her mouth "hanging off on the right side of her face," according to a Dalton Police Department incident report.

Darby Amos, 23, also had a gunshot wound to her left hand. The facial wound "appeared to be close to the corner of her mouth," the report said, and she could not speak clearly because of it. She was airlifted to Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga.

Matthew Gregory Holcomb, 22, was charged Tuesday by the Dalton Police Department with aggravated assault, aggravated battery and third-degree cruelty to children. He remained in the Whitfield County jail Thursday. He is scheduled for a bond hearing Friday.

A police department spokesman said Amos and Holcomb were friends and had known each other in high school but were not in a "romantic relationship now as far as our investigation has been able to determine." Investigators are still working to determine what led to the shooting.

According to the report, officers were sent to Park Canyon Apartments at 284 Park Canyon Drive around 2:48 a.m. in response to a report of a gunshot wound to the face. As they were on their way, "dispatch advised that the male caller stated that the firearm involved in the incident was located in the living room."

An officer saw Holcomb "sitting on the wooden staircase leading to the parking lot closest to College Drive. The male seemed to be distraught."

Inside the apartment, an officer saw a 1-year-old child standing "awake" in a playpen in the living room and a 2-year-old child asleep on a couch next to the playpen. Officers took the 1-year-old outside and stayed with the sleeping child on the couch.

Two officers entered the bedroom and found Amos "sitting on the bed with a gunshot wound to her face." The report said there was "a significant amount of blood on the bed" and "several human teeth sprawled across the bed."

An officer asked Amos if she shot herself. She "mumbled 'no' while shaking her head."

The officer asked if someone else shot her and she "attempted to mumble 'yes' before nodding her head." At that point, officers detained Holcomb for more questioning.

The officer saw several firearms on the floor in front of the bed and a "long rifle standing up in the corner of the room."

"There was a significant amount of blood on the floor of the bedroom," the report said. "There was a trail of blood leading from the bed to the front door of the apartment."

Emergency medical technicians arrived and began to care for Amos. The report said she was airlifted to Erlanger via Life Force.

The report said the officer also saw "a significant amount of blood in the living room. There was a significant amount of blood on the counter in front of the sink" as well as a silver revolver on the living room floor next to the door and cabinet. "There were drops of blood around the revolver, above the revolver and next to the door. There was blood smeared on the wall right next to the front door. There was also blood on the curtains that covered the front door."

Holcomb said the children who were in the apartment are not his and that Amos is their mother. He said she is "married to someone else" and does not live in the apartment. He said he is the only person who lives in the apartment.

An officer was able to contact Amos' mother and she came to take the children.

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