UNREVIEWED:Two Lee convenience store owners die in North Carolina

LEESBURG — Hemang Patel and his wife, Alpa, owners of A&J’s convenience store on U.S. Highway 19 South in Lee County, died Monday in what North Carolina authorities called a murder-suicide.

A manager at the store, Alyssa Lawson, confirmed that the couple had died from gunshot wounds inflicted at their home in Clemmons, N.C. She plans to keep the store open as requested by the rest of the family, she said.

A sign posted on the door to the convenience store along with two purple ribbons with bows stated that a candlelight vigil would be held at the store at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the couple’s memory.

Sherri Klatt, a customer at A&J’s Tuesday afternoon, said the Patels were “wonderful people who will be missed.”

The Winston-Salem Journal reported that the Patels were found in their North Carolina home’s bedroom shortly after 6 a.m. Monday. Alpa Patel, 39, died at 9 p.m. Sunday, about seven hours after her 43-year-old husband died, officers said.

Police Chief Deputy Brad Stanley told the Journal that the preliminary investigation and the evidence indicated the shootings were a murder-suicide. Detectives had not determined who shot whom and the case was still open, he said, but investigators “believe the participants in this shooting have been identified.” He told the Journal that authorities were not looking for any other suspects.

The Journal reported that a .45-caliber semi-automatic that Hemang Patel had bought in Georgia and two .45-claiber shell casings were found at the scene. The newspaper said the couple’s teenage son was in the house when the shootings occurred and called 911. The Patels, who operated a store in Forsyth County, N.C., as well as in Lee County, had been residing in Clemmons since 2009, the newspaper reported.