On Tuesday, January 19, 2010, a rural Appomattox neighborhood was shattered when a property line dispute escalated into a mass shooting that left eight people dead, including 43-year-old Karen Elizabeth Canard Quarles. A respiratory therapist who had worked at Centra Health for eleven years, Karen was a mother and grandmother. Her husband of 18 years, Jonathan Lee Quarles, and their 15-year-old daughter, Emily, were also killed that day.

The shootings began at the suspect’s home, where he killed his sister, her husband, and their two children, then continued outside where the Quarles family crossed his path. The suspect fled into nearby woods, fired at a police helicopter prompting an emergency landing, and a large manhunt was launched before he surrendered the next day.

The community has been left to reckon with the scale of the loss. If anyone knew Karen or the Quarles family, or has information about events from that day, please share what you can.