IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. — A suspect in a double slaying Saturday was killed after firing on deputies following a standoff Sunday in Iredell County, authorities say.

Officers on Saturday found two men dead and another person critically wounded at a home in the 100 block of Home Drive in Mooresville, Iredell Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a statement issued on Facebook.

The motive in the slayings was possibly robbery or narcotics, Campbell stated.

Deputies seeking the suspect encountered a man with an AR-15 rifle who barricaded himself in a home at 1580 Oswalt Amity Road and opened fire at officers, Campbell stated.

The suspect, identified as Justin Michael Strawser, did not cooperate with negotiators, and officers learned four juveniles also were in the home and refused rescue, Campbell stated.

After Strawser fired numerous rounds at deputies and the failure of negotiations, officers used gas, prompting the juveniles to flee, Campbell stated. Strawser fled after the juveniles and shot at deputies, who returned fire, the sheriff stated.

Strawser, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was struck and killed.

The juveniles and the deputies were not injured.

The men slain in Mooresville were identified as Eduardo Cordova, 22, Mooresville, and Caleb Loper, 24, of Lincolnton.

Three deputies were placed on administrative leave per sheriff’s office policy, Campbell stated. The State Bureau of Investigation will conduct an officer-involved shooting investigation.