Clarkesville Mayor Terry Greene died of an apparent gunshot wound to his head during a domestic dispute at his home Sunday night, authorities said Monday.

Clarkesville Police Chief Brad Barrett said authorities don’t know exactly what happened “other than there was a domestic altercation that took place and he sustained a gunshot wound shortly after that.”

Clarkesville police responded to the incident at the 51-year-old mayor’s home at 120 Asbury St. after getting a call about 7 p.m. Sunday, Barrett said.

Police found Greene lying in a room believed to be his study, the chief said.

He was taken to Habersham Medical Center then flown by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center, where he died. Barrett didn’t have the exact time of his death.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will head up the investigation, Barrett said.

GBI spokesman Nelly Miles confirmed the agency’s role.

“We're working with the agents on scene to gather details that can be disseminated,” she said.

According to Clarkesville’s website, Greene was first elected to city council in 1999 after serving for four years on the planning and zoning commission.

He was elected mayor in the 2005 election and was re-elected in 2009.

Greene had lived in Clarkesville since 1992 and worked as a physician in private practice in Habersham county since 1992, specializing in internal medicine.

The website also states Greene was a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia, and that he and his wife Anne have four children.