Yesterday (Tuesday March 10th 2009), a gunman killed 10 and injured others in a deadly trail that happened across two rural counties and three towns of the state of Alabama.

The carnage started when the gunman, 27 year old Michael McLendon, set his mom's house on fire in Kinston, leaving her dead. then he drove to the nearby town of Samson where he shot his grandparents, aunt and uncle who were sitting on the porch of their house. Then he shot a the wife and 18 month old baby daughter of the local sheriff's deputy, Josh Myers, who were talking to their neighbors on their porch.

"I have no idea who the gunman was ... I don't have any idea. I never heard of him. Never met him. Never seen him before in my life," Myers told reporters Wednesday, praising his wife as a "super mom."[Link]

Rampage ended in Suicide (link)

"It is believed the gunman left that location, traveling 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."

Officials say there were at least four separate shooting incidents. The gunman fired on homes, a petrol station, shops and vehicles in Samson and Geneva near the Florida border.