Gunman kills 9 and self in two southern towns

[snowcreature23]

"We don't know what triggered it," Preachers added.

The gunman also shot at a state trooper's car, striking the vehicle seven times and wounding the trooper with broken glass.

He then killed someone at a Samson supply store, and another person at a service station.

Samson contractor Greg McCullough said he was pumping gas at the station when the gunman opened fire, killing a woman coming out of the service station and wounding McCullough in the shoulder and arm with bullet fragments that struck his truck and the pump.

"I first thought it was somebody playing," he said. He said the gunman roared into the parking lot and slammed on his brakes. Then he saw the rifle.

He said the gunman fired and the rifle appeared to jam, then he "went back to firing." Then he drove off.

McCullough, a father of two, said he tried to help the woman who was shot and yelled for someone to call an ambulance.

"I'm just in awe that something like this could take place. That someone could do such a thing. It's just shocking," McCullough told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Police pursued the gunman to Reliable Metal Products just north of Geneva, about a dozen miles southeast of Samson, where he fired an estimated 30 rounds from a semiautomatic weapon, the Alabama safety department said. One of the bullets hit Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey, who was saved by his bullet proof vest.

The gunman then went inside the plant and shot himself, according to the safety department's statement.

Reliable Metal Products makes grills and vents for heating and AC systems, mainly for hotels. A person who answered the phone at the plant said no one could talk about the shooting.

State Rep. Warren Beck, a Republican whose district includes Geneva, said the gunman had worked at Reliable Metal.

"My secretary heard gunfire everywhere," he said. "This is one of the most tragic events ever in Geneva County."

State Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb, said some of those killed in Samson were sitting outside.

"He was just driving down the street shooting at people sitting on their porches," she said. "A family was just sitting on the porch and they were shot."

Smith and Beck were at the Statehouse when state troopers came to get them and took them to Geneva County. Smith said the governor's office is sending resources and state troopers are setting up a command post.

The towns of Geneva and Samson are near the Florida border in southeast Alabama. Geneva's population is about 4,400 and Samson, 2,000.

In the center of Samson, authorities in sheriff's cars and trucks with blue lights flashing blocked off part of East Main Street, where some of the shooting occurred.

At Bradley True Value Hardware, yellow tape was strung across the front of the store where at least five bullet holes punctured the glass windows to the store, with its wheelbarrows and Adirondack lawn chairs on display. An orange-and-black sign to the store reading "Closed" lay on the ground outside the store atop the glass shards.

David Bradley, 51, the owner of the hardware store, said he was inside behind the counter when the shooter opened fire outside his store. At the time, there were five customers inside, plus Bradley's 27-year-old son, Justin.

"No one was injured inside the store," David Bradley said, adding he didn't even get a glimpse at the suspect. "It happened so quick

[Brent88]

Ala. gunman killed his mother, grandparents and others

Posted: March 10, 2009 05:17 PM
Updated: March 10, 2009 10:32 PM

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - The Coffee County coroner said a suspect in Tuesday's deadly rampage started his day of bloodshed at his mother's house in Kinston, burning it to the ground. The mother's body was inside the house, but Coroner Robert Preachers said officials have not been able to enter the house to determine if she was shot.

News of the mother's death brings the body count to at least eleven people, including the gunman. The man's shooting spree covered two counties (Coffee and Geneva) and targeted people in the town of Kinston and the cities of Samson and Geneva in extreme southeast Alabama.

There is still no word on the suspect or victims' identities, and there is currently no known motive. Preachers confirmed that several other victims of the gunman were related to him. Those victims included his grandparents, an aunt and an uncle.

Col. Chris Murphy held an evening news conference at the Alabama State Troopers post in Montgomery to provide details. Murphy called the day's events "one of the worst tragedies in recent memory." Murphy said the Director's Crisis Center was activated as news of the rampage broke.

http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=9982408

[snowcreature23]

There is or was another shooting in Germany.

[Meade]

The whole world has gone loco.

[Chocoholic]

If you're going to kill yourself, just take yourself out. No need to take innocent people with you.

My prayers go out to the victims and their families.

[Meade]

Originally Posted by Chocoholic

If you're going to kill yourself, just take yourself out. No need to take innocent people with you.

My prayers go out to the victims and their families.

Excellent point. But thats just it. These people are cowards and want to take people with them when they die.

My prayers go out to everyone as well. We had a terrible shooting here in Virginia at VA Tech School a few years back.