Alabama shooting spree leaves 10 dead

[bigbear]

Here we go again. Want to bet there's a third within two weeks?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/south_alabama_shootings

SAMSON, Ala. – A gunman went on a shooting spree in two neighboring south Alabama towns Tuesday, killing nine people before he shot himself at a metals plant, authorities said. Police are investigating at least four separate shootings, all believed to be done by one gunman, whose name was not released, the Alabama Department of Safety said in a statement.

The shootings began late in the afternoon in Samson. The shooter killed five people in one home and one each in two other homes.

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, the safety department said.

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

The statement says the gunman then went in the plant and shot himself. His name was not released.

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

"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."

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

The towns of Geneva and Samson are roughly 30 miles south of Fort Rucker, near the Florida border in southeast Alabama. Geneva's population is about 4,400 and Samson, 2,000.

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.

[CoyoteJack]

Police pursued McLendon to Geneva's Reliable Metal Products, where he got out of his car and fired at police with his automatic weapon, wounding Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey. He then walked inside and killed himself.

Amazing how they know for sure it was an automatic weapon but yet have no other details. Methinks the AP writers are full of shit. Even the LA Times who can hardly be considered fair and reasonable with regards to gun articles labeled it as a semiauto.

[hornady]

You would think they would have someone on staff that has a clue I do not know how many times I have heard, Automatic weapon. use in place of semi-auto. Or A 223 described as a high power rifle. And some of the caliber’s they come up with. 9MM magnum. Or A 48 Cal, it must be some where between a 45 and a 38 and the gaffs go on.

[Paradigm]

Gun laws vs. psychopath...

PSYCHOPATH WINS!!!

If someone is crazy enough to go on a two-town shooting spree, no laws ever written will stop him.

[87th PVI]

Update:
http://news.aol.com/article/alabama-...g-spree/377736

10 Killed in Alabama Shooting Rampage
By JESSICA GRESKO and DESIREE HUNTER, AP

SAMSON, Ala. (March 11) - A gunman who left nine bodies scattered across two counties burned down his mother's home with her still inside, killed four relatives on a porch and then targeted strangers before killing himself, authorities said.
Tuesday's shootings in a mostly rural area near the Florida border were believed to be the work of Michael McLendon, who lived with his mother and had once worked at a local metal plant.
The bloodshed began when McLendon burned down his mother's house in Kinston, Coffee County Coroner Robert Preachers said. Authorities found Lisa McLendon's body inside, but they have not determined how she died or whether she was a 10th victim of her son's spree.
McLendon then drove a dozen miles southeast to Samson, in Geneva County, where he took down nine victims, including four members of his family. The rampage ended another 12 miles farther east in Geneva at the metals plant where McLendon had once worked. After a shootout with police, McLendon killed himself.
Investigators declined to comment on a motive for the shootings, in which at least four other people were injured, including a child. The victims' names have not been released.
"He cleaned his family out," Preachers said. "We don't know what triggered it."
Five people were killed on the porch in Samson, along with a 74-year-old woman next door, said Kirke Adams, district attorney for Geneva and Dale counties. Four of the six killed were related to McLendon.
Preachers had said McLendon's victims included his grandparents. But Adams said the 74-year-old victim might have been McLendon's great aunt.
The two unrelated victims on the porch were the wife and 18-month-old child of a Geneva County sheriff's deputy. They had stopped by the home to visit.
McLendon then drove around Samson, shooting out his car window, killing three more people seemingly at random.
"He sprayed bullets through the town," Adams said.
One woman was struck down as she walked out of a gas station. Another man was driving. Another man was shot as he tried to run away.
"In a cowardly act, he shot him in the back," Adams said.
McLendon fired several shots at a Wal-Mart store in Geneva. No one was killed, but it was unclear if anyone was injured.
"There's a lot of people who had close calls," Adams said.
Samson contractor Greg McCullough said he was pumping fuel at the gas station when the gunman roared into the parking lot and slammed on his brakes.
"I first thought it was somebody playing," McCullough said. Then he saw the rifle.
McLendon opened fire, killing the woman who walked outside and wounding McCullough with bullet fragments that struck his truck and the pump. At one point the rifle appeared to jam, then McLendon fired more shots before driving off.
"I'm just in awe that something like this could take place. That someone could do such a thing. It's just shocking," McCullough said.
Police pursued McLendon to Geneva's Reliable Metal Products, where he got out of his car and fired at police with his automatic weapon, wounding Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey. He then walked inside and killed himself.
"He had plenty of ammo in his car and other weapons and he appeared to be going to do some damage there," Adams said.
There had recently been layoffs at the plant, but it was not immediately known if McLendon was among those losing their jobs. A person who answered the phone at the plant said no one could talk about the shooting.
Samson Mayor Clay King said he knew the gunman and the victims.
"What I'm focusing on is people here in the town, making sure they feel comfortable," said King, who added the town of about opened a crisis center at the First Baptist Church with counselors available. "I've lived here 44 years and never, never dreamed of this happening."
State Rep. Warren Beck, a Republican whose office is near the Wal-Mart, said his secretary heard gunfire everywhere.
"This is one of the most tragic events ever in Geneva County," he said.Among others injured was a state trooper injured by broken glass after McLendon shot his cruiser seven times. A child of unknown age was taken to Wiregrass Medical Center in Geneva before being flown to another hospital, hospital administrator John Rainey said.
The hospital's staff was ready to treat more injured victims, but their hopes were dashed as death reports trickled in.
"Unfortunately, we were getting the same bad reports as everyone else: Most people were untreatable," Rainey said. "It's something you'd expect in Atlanta or your bigger cities, but in a little town it puts a lot of people in stress. Our nursing staff broke down in tears hearing what was going on and realizing they weren't going to be able to help them."
One of the spots sprayed with bullets was a hardware store in Samson. Yellow tape was strung across glass windows shattered by at least five bullets. A "closed" sign was on the ground outside atop glass shards.
Tommy Boyles, a 76-year-old security guard who works at the same plant where McLendon killed himself, said he and his wife were on the street nearby.
"We could have been caught up in it just as well as anyone else," he said. "That's what scares you: to be an innocent bystander and some nut walks up with a gun."
Associated Press Writers Garry Mitchell in Mobile, Bob Johnson in Montgomery and Anna Varela in Atlanta contributed to this report.




This is a tragedy. Obviously the guy snapped, but instead of (likely falsely) saying automatic weapon, as if the inanimate object is to blame, why is there no research into the criminal's actions before this happened? Did he show signs of mental defect? Was he being medicated with a chemical that could affect his thought process. Should he have been medicated to correct something natural that could have made him irrational? Maybe he was on the edge due to something he should have been being treated for & then he got word that he was losing his job, and he felt that his life was over.
I am praying for the victims and their families, but I'm not blaming the guns, I'm blaming the mind and actions of the killer.
Antis will use this to try to justify the banning of all guns for all people...Without guns, he could have just as easily killed even more people with fertilizer... just ask Oklahoma if you don't think so!
What if the guy at the gas pump would have had a gun & could have shot him when he was focused on aiming at the woman coming out of the building? What if a neighbor would have had a gun on him while the family was being shot on the porch? What if what if what if.
Oh & by the way... the cops who are supposedly the only ones who should be allowd to have guns... Um yeah... so what good did they do us in this case?

[PocketProtector]

Be prepared for the MSM assault on gun rights for at least the next few days or weeks.

[Stooperzero]

Would they prefer he did it with a Baseball bat instead of an EVIL Gun??






People have been killing each other since day one, they need to get over it.

[Phillygunguy]

THAts a horrible thing 2 shootings within a week of each other (preacher shooting being the other) I feel for the victims and their families . But I also feel for all of us lawful gun owneres because The media and anti gunners are gonna start their bitchin and moaning, THis may be the straw that breaks the camels back for them,which just pushes more restrictions, and bans on all of us

[vetter3006]

THAts a horrible thing 2 shootings within a week of each other (preacher shooting being the other) I feel for the victims and their families . But I also feel for all of us lawful gun owneres because The media and anti gunners are gonna start their bitchin and moaning, THis may be the straw that breaks the camels back for them,which just pushes more restrictions, and bans on all of us

I feel the same way. My prayers to all the families who were effected with these shootings. I hope to read more on what happened to make this guy go nuts!

[ehidle]

My Dad was born in Samson, and I still have a lot of Family in Geneva.

I can tell you first hand that life there is DEPRESSING. Ever since NAFTA, all of the textile jobs have moved to Mexico, leaving the entire area practically jobless ever since. It has not adapted well to the change.



Luckily, nobody in my family was a victim...