SMYRNA — Residents of a Smyrna townhouse neighborhood were in shock Thursday after learning of the double shooting deaths of a couple who lived on their street.

Smyrna Police said William Whitaker, 44, and his wife, Lynn Whitaker, 48, were found dead by their 25-year-old son around 10 p.m. Wednesday at their town house in the 1700 block of Cumberland Valley Drive, off Spring Road.

“The preliminary investigation revealed this is the result of a domestic dispute,” Officer Michael Smith said in a news release. “There is no danger to the community.”

Neighbors said the Whitakers were both postal workers.

“They were good people,” Melvin Drake said. “What happened last night — I have no idea.”

Janice Sowe said Wednesday seemed like a typical quiet day in the neighborhood, which is made of several clusters of townhouses. She said William Whitaker was always willing to help neighbors out with their cars.

“No one would have anything bad to say about them, because they were the type of couple that would do anything for a stranger,” Sowe said.

She said it will take time for the neighborhood to heal.

“Everybody is in disbelief right now,” Sowe said. “The whole neighborhood is very sad, and we can’t believe something like that would happen to a lovely couple. They’ve been together for a whole lot of years.”

Smith said Thursday afternoon that police had no more information to release because they hadn’t heard back from the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office, which performed an autopsy Thursday morning.

The homicide is being investigated by the Smyrna Police Department’s Criminal Investigative Division, Smith said.

Tax records show Lynn Whitaker owned the home.