Gunman kills nine in Alabama rampage

A US gunman has shot dead at least nine people, including members of his own family, before taking his own life. At least four other people, including a child, were injured in the rampage which took place across two counties in rural southern Alabama. The shootings began in the town of Samson near the border with Florida. The man burned down his mother's home, killed his grandparents, an uncle and aunt, and shot at apparent strangers on their porches as he drove by, authorities said. He then drove 12 miles to a metal factory in the town of Geneva where he turned the gun on himself. Frankie Lindsay, chief of police in Geneva County where five people were shot dead, said the man also fired at officers as they chased his vehicle in patrol cars. He said: "We had set up a road block here in Geneva anticipating him coming down Highway 52. "My vehicle rammed into the suspect's vehicle and slowed him down enough and he pulled out what looked to me like an AR-15 or M-16 automatic weapon and fired a burst of rounds into my vehicle and my other officer's vehicle. "Some of the shrapnel from the bullets entered my shoulder." He said the wife and child of a deputy sheriff in Geneva were among the dead. "This is probably the worst incident in the state of Alabama that I know of. I've been in this business for 33 years and this is the worst I've ever seen," said Mr Lindsay.

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ITN | March 11, 2009

Tags:. .geneva. .shrapnel. .gunman. .drove. .sheriff