Davidson County sheriff's deputies shot and killed Ronnie Boles, 56, after he had fired a gun several times in a neighborhood near the Forsyth County line, authorities said.
Neighbors said Boles lived in a house across the street from his wife and son, though the couple were not separated.
The Davidson County Sheriff's Office released few details.
Samantha McKnight, Boles' niece, said earlier Friday he had driven erratically in the neighborhood.
His wife and son, realizing that something was wrong, left the house, she said.
Boles later shot at the door of the house from the front yard and then at an air conditioning unit, McKnight said.
"It was obvious that he was drunk or something," said neighbor Scott Underwood, who watched with his father from a window. "He was off-balance when he went to reload. He'd kind of sway."
When sheriff's deputies began to arrive, Boles was walking toward his house across the street, McKnight said.
"I was on the computer and I heard four shots," said Grey Underwood, Scott's father.
The Underwoods said that Boles' behavior Friday was highly unusual.
He had suffered from bipolar disorder and depression, McKnight and neighbors said, but he was generally a pleasant man to neighbors.
About 8 a.m. Friday, Boles left a note and a key for his other niece, who was staying with him, McKnight said.
It read, "Everything's going to be over today. Everything's yours," she said.
The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting, which is routine in such incidents.
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