A man who killed at least 10 people, including the wife and daughter of a sheriff's deputy who was chasing him, had trained as a police officer and recently quit a job at a meat products distributor.
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After nearly a full day of investigation by police from 20 separate agencies, officials had pieced together an account of the violence. The killing began just before 3.30pm when McLendon shot his mother, killed her four dogs and set her house on fire in rural Kinston, local officials said.
He travelled about 10 miles to Samson, where he opened fire on relatives gathered on his uncle's porch, killing the uncle, two cousins, the wife and 18-month-old daughter of a sheriff's deputy and his grandmother at a house next door, police said. The deputy's other daughter, a four-month-old, was injured and in a stable condition yesterday.
McLendon drove off in his Mitsubishi car, killed at least three others seemingly at random and injured three police officers who tried to intervene.
The bloodshed ended when McLendon retreated into a metal products plant in Geneva, about 12 miles from Samson. After exchanging gunfire with two police officers, he killed himself.
McLendon was armed with two high-powered assault rifles, a handgun and a shotgun, and police say he fired more than 200 rounds. He had no criminal record.
"I've known Michael all of my life. As a matter of fact, I coached him along with my two sons in T-ball and Little League," Samson's mayor, Clay King, told NBC news. "If you would of asked me two days ago if he was capable of this, I would have said certainly not."
Full Story:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/12/alabama-killer-mclendon-genevaEvidently, having a criminal record prior to committing a mass murder is incidental, and a weak predictor.
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