Four people were shot and killed, including two North Carolina sheriff’s deputies, during a welfare check at a home that turned into a 13-hour standoff, authorities said.

Deputies responded to the home in Boone — about 100 miles northwest of Charlotte — around 9:44 a.m. on Wednesday after the homeowner’s employer reported that the person had not reported to work or responded to phone calls, the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office said.

The two slain deputies, Sgt. Chris Ward and K-9 Deputy Logan Fox, were shot upon entering the home, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect also allegedly killed two civilians inside the home, the sheriff’s office said. Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman told ABC Charlotte affiliate WSOC the victims were the suspect’s mother and stepfather.

The suspect died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Hagaman told WSOC.

A Boone police officer was hit by gunfire while trying to rescue the sheriff’s officers, but wasn’t hurt thanks to his protective equipment, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect ambushed the officers, Hagaman told WSOC.

“He was waiting for the officers. And we’d had an issue with him over the weekend,” Hagaman said of the suspect. “We’d gotten calls from concerned folks that know him… for us to be careful.”

The standoff ended shortly before 11 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office did not say how the standoff ended.

Hagaman said of losing two deputies, “This is just unreal. I can’t put it into words.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper offered his condolences in a statement on Twitter.