Autopsy planned for Alzheimer's patient shot in Chickamauga, Ga.

photo Joe Hendrix shot and killed a man shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday at this Cottage Crest Court home near Chickamauga, Ga.

CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. - An autopsy has been scheduled for a 72-year-old Alzheimer's patient who was shot after authorities say he wandered into a darkened yard in Georgia.

Sheriff's officials say Ronald Westbrook had walked about three miles in sub-freezing temperatures, then knocked on 34-year-old Joe Hendrix's door just before 4 a.m. Wednesday. They say Hendrix went into the backyard of the home he rented in the Chickamauga area, confronted Westbrook and fired his handgun four times at the man. No charges have been filed.

Walker County Coroner W. Dewayne Wilson said Friday in a statement to The Associated Press that the autopsy is scheduled for Saturday at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation lab in Atlanta.

Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson has said he had no doubts that Hendrix felt threatened during the encounter.

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