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At least 10 killed in Alabama shooting spree

MetalChris

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http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1036167920090311

UPDATE 3-At least 10 killed in Alabama shooting spree
By Verna Gates

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 10 (Reuters) - At least 10 people including the suspected gunman and his mother were killed in a shooting spree and car chase in southern Alabama on Tuesday, authorities said.

The shooter, who was in his mid-30s, killed five people including the wife of a local deputy sheriff and her 3-month-old baby at a mobile home in Samson, according to Wynnton Melton, mayor of nearby Geneva, Alabama.

His other victims included his own mother, two people killed at a convenience store and a man in a pickup truck who died during a car chase as the gunman apparently fired at random, said Melton.

The shooting began in Samson, a small town in the southeastern part of the state and ended after a car chase and gun battle in Geneva, the county seat about 12 miles (20 km) away, according to the FBI and local police.

"Officer Ricky Morgan rammed his car to distract him and was rewarded with a hail of bullets," said Melton. "One bullet grazed the shoulder of police chief Frankie Lindsey."
A police officer in Geneva said the gunman "shot at several vehicles on the highway and then he shot at Wal-Mart and Piggly Wiggly," a grocery store.

A statement from the Alabama Department of Public Safety said state and local law enforcement agencies had responded to "a series of at least four shooting incidents" involving what was believed to be a lone gunman.

The suspect "left at least nine victims dead before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot," the statement said.

Police said they expected to find more victims. There was no indication of a motive for the spree in which a house was also burned in a nearby county.
Rural southeastern Alabama, which borders Florida, is a largely agricultural area with many low-income families. It relies partly on peanut crops.

Mass shootings have become a feature of life in the United States.

In one of the worst recent incidents, a gunman dressed as Santa Claus killed nine guests at a Christmas Eve party, before taking his own life in Covina, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.

On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech, a university in Blacksburg, Virginia, became the site of the deadliest rampage in modern U.S. history when a student gunman killed 32 people and himself.

Guns are widely available for purchase in the United States, a country that prides itself on the right to own weapons for self defense and hunting. (Writing by Matthew Bigg; editing by Tom Brown)


-----------------------------------

More anti-gun drivel from the lame-stream media.
 

Doug Huffman

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Not from Al JaReuters...

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D96RGT280&show_article=1

SAMSON, Ala. (AP) - Authorities say at 10 people have been shot and killed in two south Alabama towns, including the gunman. The Alabama Department of Safety says at least four shootings by a single gunman left at least nine people dead before he killed himself.

The department says in a statement that the shootings began late Tuesday afternoon in Samson. The shooter killed five people in one home and one each in two other homes.

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

Police pursued him to Reliable Metal Products just north of Geneva, where he fired an estimated 30 rounds.

The statement says the gunman then went in the business and shot himself.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SAMSON, Ala. (AP)—At least seven people were shot and killed Tuesday in south Alabama, including the gunman, officials said.

Six people were confirmed dead in the town of Samson, said police dispatcher Jim Stromenger.

Samson Police Chief Gary Weeks said the suspect was shot and killed. But it is unclear whether it was self-inflicted or whether he was shot by police near the Reliable Metal Products company outside neighboring Geneva.

Stromenger said the gunman started firing at a gas station in Samson, shooting a woman there.

He then went to a Samson home and shot five people, Stromenger said. He said it was unclear how the shooter might have been related to the people at the house.
Stromenger said the shooter then drove 12 miles east to Geneva "and apparently he shot some people there and he made it to Reliable metal and that's where the incident ended."

The suspect's name was not released.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation said it would have a statement later on the shootings.

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 about 11 miles apart, and 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.
 

hsmith

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Shame. Sadly I think these things will only get worse as the depression widens.

The Brady Campaign will exploit these victims, this is what Sarah Brady wants, more dead innocent people she can exploit.

God rest their souls.
 

WCrawford

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Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
 

deepdiver

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When I read a story like that my first thought is always, "WTF is wrong with people??"

When the predictable "mass shootings have become a feature of life in America" comments start I just have to agree and think, "Wow, if only I lived someplace with strict gun control like IL I would never be in danger of being shot in a classroom or even better, if I lived in India I would never be a defenseless victim of a mass shooting attack that kills 183 people!!" Oh wait ....

And then I think, "Damn, I probably need to start carrying 2 extra mags regularly and really need to start regular dry fire practice again and get to the range more often."

Finally, these murders sound pretty darn personal overall rather than a random mass shooting.
 

ixtow

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WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
Uhm, where do you get this as logical?

How many victims were there? 10? Had any one of them, especially the FIRST one, been armed, the whole mess would have come to a halt, and many lives saved.

Color me an asshole, but I'm getting a bit blase about it. If you refuse to be armed, you get what you deserve. Especially parents who refuse to protect their own children. Being deliberately helpless in the face of a murderer is stupid. But when you are a PARENT, and you STILL CHOOSE TO BE UNARMED so that you can plead "there was nothing I could do" over the dead body of your own child!?!? Those who choose to be disarmed are planning this in advance! They consciously plan to let their children be killed!

A dead parent like that, deserves to be. A parent that has such disregard for their own children, grrr... Simply being shot is too good for them.
 

Task Force 16

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WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
That's why I said, "this whacko may not have". There are no garauntees in life, but having more armed citizens on the streets adds a little insurance.
 

WCrawford

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Task Force 16 wrote:
WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
That's why I said, "this whacko may not have". There are no garauntees in life, but having more armed citizens on the streets adds a little insurance.

I did catch the "may", and I definatley agree that there are no guarantees in life.

I just think that this incident, as I read it from the story, would be much harder to stop by a legally armed citizen than the Virginia Tech shooting.
 

WCrawford

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ixtow wrote:
WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
Uhm, where do you get this as logical?

How many victims were there? 10? Had any one of them, especially the FIRST one, been armed, the whole mess would have come to a halt, and many lives saved.

Color me an @#$%, but I'm getting a bit blase about it. If you refuse to be armed, you get what you deserve. Especially parents who refuse to protect their own children. Being deliberately helpless in the face of a murderer is stupid. But when you are a PARENT, and you STILL CHOOSE TO BE UNARMED so that you can plead "there was nothing I could do" over the dead body of your own child!?!? Those who choose to be disarmed are planning this in advance! They consciously plan to let their children be killed!

A dead parent like that, deserves to be. A parent that has such disregard for their own children, grrr... Simply being shot is too good for them.

I get my impression from the news story. There was the shooter killing his mother at home, then the LEO's wife and baby at another location, then the shooting at a stop and rob, then shooting at other drivers and businesses while driving.

The multiple and spread out nature makes it difficult for word to spread or to predict where the shooter will next strike, thereby drastically increasing the likelyhood of a legally armed citizen being totally unprepared for (as I would guess) the (seemingly) unprovoked mayhem.

According to the report, the first victim was the shooter's mother, what mother would even consider needing to defend herself from her child while at home? Its a family member, your guard is not up against them, generally.

I do understand your feelings of frustration, but I don't believe that there was much that the LEO's wife could have done based on the information in the story and my interpertation of the information. With more details, my opinion may change.
 

Task Force 16

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WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
That's why I said, "this whacko may not have". There are no garauntees in life, but having more armed citizens on the streets adds a little insurance.

I did catch the "may", and I definatley agree that there are no guarantees in life.

I just think that this incident, as I read it from the story, would be much harder to stop by a legally armed citizen than the Virginia Tech shooting.

They've been running the story on ABC late night news right now. It does appear that this would ahve been a tough event to stop as it was a "moving" shooting. An armed citizen would have had to been in the right place at the right time, along the route.

Since this guy was doing allot of shooting as he drove, I would have had a hard time making the decision to fire into his vehicle. If I were to take him out, his vehicle would then become an out of control 2 ton missile.

I still think that if folks were armed as they were back in the late 1800's (not the weapons types but in number of carriers) this guy would have had one hell of a gauntlet to have to pass through on his shooting spree.
 

ixtow

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i did digress considerably in my original message

However, my point of logical contention is no less valid. Your argument seems to imply that a self-defense situation cannot occur without a predictable string of deaths leading up to a defense. If this is true, then all self-defense is pointless, as someone is always first in line, and that can never be predicted.

Every victim here had the same 'warning' that any self-defense situation has, none. Predictability, or even being aware that others have died, is totally irrelevant. If you imply that some predictable pattern be established, you argue that circumstances of crime are all inevitable and unpreventable until commited several times in a row.

Follow what I'm saying?

Had any one of the now victims been armed, they would be the 'armed citizen' in the right place and time to stop this. The nature of this disaster is not belied by motion, but that every body in the story chpse to be helplees, and paid the price. The police cannot be everywhere, neither can gun-owners; unless you're it! Is that not the very concept we all know and understand? Bad things can happen anywhere and at any time?
 

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

Gunman identified, death toll now at 12

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Police have now identified the man behindTuesday's deadlysouth Alabama shooting spree. Police say Michael McLendon of Kinston went on a two county rampage before turning the gun on himself.
The Coffee County coroner saidMcLendonstarted his day off with bloodshed at the Kinston area home owned by his mother; a home he ended upburningto the ground. The mother's body was still inside the house Tuesday evening, butCoroner Robert Preachers said officialshad not been able to enter the houseto determine if she was shot. It's also believed McClendon's girlfriend was killed inside the home.
The body count now stands at twelve, including the gunman. Others citizens and law enforcment officerswere wounded asMcClendon drove though town firing shots at anyone in his path.
The man'sshooting spreecovered two counties (Coffee and Geneva) and targetedpeople in the town of Kinston and thecities of Samson and Geneva in extreme southeast Alabama.
Victim identities and amotiveremain unknown.Preachers confirmed that several other victims of the gunman were related to him including McLendon's grandparents, an aunt and an uncle. Investigators tell WSFA 12 News the victims ranged in age from 18 months to 74-years-old.
Col. Chris Murphy held an evening news conferenceat the Alabama State Troopers postin Montgomery to provide details.Murphycalledthe day's events "one of the worst tragedies in recent memory."
Murphy said Governor Bob Riley wasbriefed on the situation, and he spoke with area mayors a short time later. Rileypromisedstate resources to help those local municipalities deal with the aftermath. (Note: Wednesday morning news conference now planned. WSFA 12 News will have coverage.)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the Alabama Emergency Management Agency and many other agenciescontinue towork multiple crime scenes.
Murphy told media outlets that four adults and one child were found dead inside of one house, and one body was found at each of two other houses in the Samson area.
Investigatorssaid McLendondrove down Highway 52 where he fired at least seven times on astate trooper vehicle. The trooper was wounded bybroken glass.
He then drove to the Samson Pipe and Supply Companyon Highway 52where he gunned down another victim. Afterwards, he took aim ataninnocent civilian at a local service station in the same area. That victim also died of their wounds.
Geneva police then began a pursuit of the suspect's vehicle, chasing McLendon to theReliable Metal Products company in Geneva. Officials later confirmed he had been a former employee of the company,but the reasons forhis leaving the company were not immediately know.
On there, officialssaid the man fired at least a 30 round burst of ammunitionat the city police chief beforerunning inside the business. The police chief was grazed by gunfire but was wearing a bullet-proof vest.
A short time later investigators said they heard shots inside the building, and when they entered the business they found the man dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
WSFA 12 News has a crew on the scene and will have the latest information in a live report from there on Today in Alabama Wednesday morning.
Anyone who was in the area at the time with helpful information is asked to call the Dothan trooper post at 334-983-4587.
CONGRESSMAN BOBBY BRIGHT REACTS
"My thoughts and prayers go out to families of the victims in the tragic shootings that occurred today in Geneva County. Now is the time for the entire Wiregrass community to unite and support each other as we mourn the loss of friends and neighbors. My offices in Washington and Dothan are here to assist local leaders, law enforcement, and the citizens of Geneva County in any way that we can. I plan on returning to the district as soon as possible to be with my constituents who have just experienced such a horrible tragedy."
 

ixtow

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the noted identities and relationship of the victims is very curious. I believe that it is obvious that this guy had decided not to live to another day from the outset of the entire incident. I am very interested to know why he chose the very specific targets that he did.

This is something that we should all take very personally, these events are what gun-haters accuse each and every one of us of, in advance. that we will lose out cool and do something like this. Ignoring the fact that the 12 victims were in fact victims of gun-hate propaganda. Any one of them could have saved themselves and those higher up the chain. But they fell for the idea that being helpless will somehow make them safe.

Without providing too much information, and seeing something that stands out specifically in these reports... I have been tested, many times. I take this very personally, because I have been there. Betrayed. Doubting that there is any reason to live. Angry at those who are to blame. This man failed his test, and we are all compared to him in spite of the fact that we have not failed ours.
 

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,508507,00.html

"Detectives tried to piece together Wednesday why a gunman killed at least nine people in two rural Alabama counties in a bloody rampage that ended when he took his own life."
...
"Geneva Police Chief Frank Lindsey was wounded by McLendon, who essentially trapped him and his partner in the police car as he fired round after round from his automatic weapon.
...
""He had a lot more fire power than we did," Lindsey said Wednesday. "All we had were our pistols. He fired 15, 16 rounds from an automatic weapon. ..."
...
""He sprayed bullets through the town," Adams 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 Lindsey. He then walked inside and killed himself.

"He had plenty of ammo in his car and other weaponsand he appeared to be going to do some damage there," Adams said."
...
"One of the spots sprayed with bullets was a hardware store in Samson."
...
""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."

This is a tradgedy indeed - but is it also going to be the excuse? Pete
 

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WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
This morning, Fox News interviewed an eye witness who lived next door to a big chunk of the victims. He WATCHED the guy not only shoot the people on the front porch, but chase a woman who escaped out the back door, hid for a while, then ran down the street.

If that man had had a gun and been willing to use it, the casualty count might have been cut in half.

My [recently] former boss asked me why I carry every day. Add this incident to the Tinley Park massacre.
 

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So as I read it - three victims were not related to him? So out of the 11 he killed, 8 were his relation?
 

Deanimator

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WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
WCrawford wrote:
Task Force 16 wrote:
Had more law abiding poeple in Alabama been carrying arms, this whacko may not have gotten as far as he did, and the body count would have been much lower.

I might agree if the shooting was confined to a single location. With the description of the event leading me to the conclusion that there were at least 3 locations where people were shot, it may have happened so quickly that there was little time to respond.

Then there is the article's depiction of a car chase with the gunman shooting other vehicles.

I can't be as convinced, with this particular case, that a legally armed citizen would have been able to make a difference.
That's why I said, "this whacko may not have". There are no garauntees in life, but having more armed citizens on the streets adds a little insurance.

I did catch the "may", and I definatley agree that there are no guarantees in life.

I just think that this incident, as I read it from the story, would be much harder to stop by a legally armed citizen than the Virginia Tech shooting.
Watch for the Fox News interview of a neighbor of some of the victims. By his description of the time he spent observing the crime, he had the opportunity to stop this, had he been armed and willing.
 
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So much for "law enforcement officers" protecting anyone.
Guess all those restrictive, unconstitutional "laws" didn't help much. either.

As the late Nathan Earl Miller oft said, "some people live and learn, others just live."
 
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