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SAMSON, Alabama - A gunman killed at least 10 people in a shooting rampage in two Alabama towns, killing women and children in their homes and firing randomly at others along a road.
Local residents and US media named Michael McLendon, 27, as the man behind the latest mass killing to stun America. The shooter turned his gun on himself in a factory on Tuesday as police surrounded him after leaving a trail of dead and wounded across two counties in the southern state.
Ten people were said to have been shot dead -- including members of McLendon's family. A local television news channel said a 12th person died in a fire started by the shooter.
The violence began in the small town of Kintson, Alabama, where the gunman set fire to his mother's house. The WSFA News 12 television channel quoted coroner Robert Preachers as saying McLendon's mother and his girlfriend were killed.
Four adults and a child -- including members of McLendon's family -- were shot dead on the porch of a nearby house, reports said.
The victims included the wife of a local sheriff's deputy and a one year-old child, officials said. Another young child is reportedly hospitalized with gunshot injuries.
Sheriff Greg Ward told reporters the deputy had taken part in a shootout with the killer minutes later not knowing that his wife and child had died.
Police said the shooter then moved on to a second home and killed another adult, then a third home and where another adult was shot dead.
"It is believed the gunman left that location, travelling on Alabama route 52 where he shot at a state trooper's vehicle, striking the vehicle seven times and slightly wounding the trooper due to broken glass," said a statement released by the Alabama Public Safety Department.
The gunman stopped on the road at a local company, Samson Pipe and Supply, where he shot dead one person, then killed another victim at a service station. Media reports said both were random targets.
Sirens wailing, police cars chased the shooter to Reliable Metal Products, a local business just north of the town of Geneva that makes parts for heating and air condition units.
McLendon "fired an estimated 30-round burst", according to the statement. "One bullet grazed the Geneva police chief, who was saved from serious injury by his bullet-proof vest."
"The subject entered the business. Within minutes, shots were heard from within Reliable Metal, and law enforcement officers found him dead from what are believed to be self-inflicted gunshots."
Local media said McLendon had worked in the past at Reliable Metal, though it was unclear when or if he had been fired or laid off.
"There was an attempt to stop the shooter in front of the Walmart" in Geneva, near Reliable Metal, where shots were fired, eyewitness Stephen Crews, a local reporter, told WSFA TV. Police failed to stop him, and "he continued on up the road just a bit further.
"You don't expect things like this to happen in your small home town," Crews said.
Much of downtown Samson, which has a population 2,000, was cordoned off overnight as police agencies investigated the shootings.
Police trooper Kevin Cook, a spokesman for Alabama state troopers, told reporters the gunman used a semi-automatic weapon, but gave no further details.
Alabama Bureau of Investigation officials told reporters they were conducting investigations at six crime scenes, including the home that was set ablaze.
- AFP/vm/ir
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