Pedophile politician's $150,000 bribery scheme
MSNBC coverage of the shooting spree
UPDATE 2
The Associated Press reports that the gunman was a resident of Kinston, Alabama named Michael McLendon. The majority of his victims were his own relatives, including his mother and grandparents. Others victims were strangers, chosen at random.
McLendon may have been a former employee of Reliable Metal Products, the facility where he committed suicide at the end of his murderous spree.
UPDATE
The following comes from The Southeast Sun:
A 30-year-old man apparently set fire to his mother's home in Coffee County before traveling to Samson and Geneva on a shooting spree that left at least 10 people dead. Coffee County Sheriff's Department deputies, District Attorney Gary McAliley and Enterprise firefighters are on the scene at the woman's home near Kinston, where her burned body has been discovered. Officials have not confirmed if she was alone in the house. They said witnesses saw the gunman, whose name has not been released, leaving the home earlier today before he drove to Samson...
Original Post
The spree began in Geneva County, Alabama, with gunshots inside a house in the town of Samson, just off Highway 52. Local reports indicate that the gunman killed 5 people in that house, 4 adults and a child. They were said to be his relatives. Two more were found dead at two other residences in the area. Then the gunman headed into downtown Samson. He shot a man walking down the sidewalk there, killing him. He entered the Big/Little Store where he killed one person. A local report indicated that the victim was a woman. She was found face-up behind the counter inside the store.
Law enforcement swarmed the area as the reports came in. Meanwhile, the killer traveled a quarter mile or so up the highway to a True Value Hardware Store, where he again opened fire, shooting an assault rifle out the window of his vehicle. The killer then headed towards the town of Geneva, allegedly shooting at vehicles along the way.
An investigator named Ricky Morgan spotted the shooter near a Wal-Mart, still firing away. Morgan barrelled into the maniac with his own vehicle and was shot at for his trouble Then Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey confronted the shooter, who fired at Lindsey, striking him in the shoulder. Lindsey was not seriously injured.
The final showdown with the still-unnamed gunman came in the parking lot of Reliable Metal Products on Alabama Highway 27. There he exchanged gunfire with a Geneva County Sheriff's Deputy and a local conservation officer. The killer managed to flee to the building, where he shot himself.
After the killer took his own life and the investigation began, some reports suggested that the number of dead may rise.
According to local media, the FBI, Alabama Bureau of Investigation and multiple county sheriff's departments are investigating.
This is a developing story. Updates and revisions will follow.
[The Southeast Sun, NBC15Online.com, DothanEagle.com. Also: an online guest book has been created for the victims of the spree.]
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Map of approximate locations where shots were fired. |








Good God. What the hell is wrong with people???? Freaking "end of the world, as I know it" crap. Seriously, there's some pretty f*cked up people lately.
Posted 03/10/2009 at 11:36:17 PMAndrea Myers - wife of Geneva County Deputy Josh Myers (who was involved in the chase) was a victim. Her myspace page is http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=89786691 and for their children to be victims (one murdered, one wounded) as well....sad, sad, sad indeed.
Posted 03/11/2009 at 04:32:11 AMI wonder how many dead in Alabama had guns nearby, for all the good it did them. Anyone know if this loon was a Limbaugh fan? There are consequences for his constant fake outrage.
Posted 03/11/2009 at 07:43:32 AMUntil you have been in a gun fight--shut up---it is so easy to play Wednesday morning quarterback---sit on the sidelines and spout your poison to the victims and see the reception you get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOTE TO ALL WHO MIGHT COMMENT, FROM STEVE: If people try to turn this into a gun debate, I'll just shut these comments down. Gun ownership inevitably is a political discussion, and this blog is about crime. A 2nd Amendment discussion here would be off-topic, as far as I'm concerned. This note is for everyone, on both sides of that issue.
Posted 03/11/2009 at 09:22:33 AMUh I don't know where Limbaugh plays into this. That really doesn't make any sense. Oh wait. You were just trying to piss people off. Hmm didn't really work.
Anyways back to the actual topic, this is awful. I can't imagine things ever getting so awful that you would decide to murder family members! And then to just start picking people off? I really wonder what was going through his head. It pisses me off when someone goes on a spree like this and then kills themself. What a total coward.
Posted 03/11/2009 at 09:49:28 AMFor the last year I've been thinking "What the heck is going on in eastern NC and central FL?"
Now for the last few days that's changed to "What the heck is going on in AL?!"
I am saddened beyond words to read about this tragedy.
Posted 03/11/2009 at 10:57:01 AMThis is just AWFUL. What is this world coming to?? I am the mother of two boys and I have thought seriously about carrying a weapon because of incidents like these. They are happening far to often!
Posted 03/11/2009 at 11:52:06 AMthis is rediculous... how can someone do that. i was watching tv when i found out about this. how can someone injure a 4 month old baby as well as kill an 18 month old as well as many others... prayers to the remaining family and friends of the family
Posted 03/11/2009 at 10:24:50 PMI too could not fathom for a long time why people would murder, especially their own family. It sickens me to think about it. I haven't changed the way I feel about it, but I have a new perspective on how the victims can get help recovering from these nightmares. An author I found, Ken Whitaker, speaks in his book "Murder By Family" of his personal experience of losing his family. I was in awe the whole time I read his book.
Posted 03/12/2009 at 11:19:02 AMMelissa, thanks for posting the link. I have heard Kent speak and his ability to forgive his son amazes me and also confounds me at the same time. I'm not sure I could do the same and I hope I never have to find out.
By the way, the link in your name works but the link in your post does not (you left out the "t" in kent-whitaker")
Posted 03/12/2009 at 04:48:47 PMTake the guns away we need more people who are willing to become the fish in a barrell. Let the loonies thin the herd. This story made me cry and all I could think about is how irresponsible it is not to be ready to defend yourself and how many lives could have been saved if more law abiding citizens took their duty as citizens to protect themselves and their community serious. This is what happens when you believe what they tell you "Don't resist, don't be prepared, and don't try to save yourself, let the police who are trained to do these things confront the bad guy, just keep dodging the bullets til they arrive." We see how quickly they intervened here.
Posted 03/16/2009 at 05:38:46 PM