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Authorities: Ala. shooter quit job last week
Published Wednesday, March 11, 2009
SAMSON, Ala. (AP) — A gunman who killed 10 people and himself in the worst mass shooting in Alabama history had trained as a police officer and quit a job at a nearby sausage plant days before the deadly spree, authorities said Wednesday.
But as details of 28-year-old Michael McLendon's background began to emerge the day after the bloodshed, authorities still didn't know what set him off. And the people who might be able to explain — his mother, his grandmother, his uncle and two cousins — were among the victims.
"I've been here 30 years, this is the worst thing that's ever happened in this community," Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward said at a news conference Wednesday morning. "We have lost friends here in our community. It's going to take a while before we can get over it."
The rampage started around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, and took only about an hour from start to finish. In that time, McClendon sprayed more than 200 rounds, authorities said.
First, McLendon set his mother's house on fire and killed her, then drove 12 miles and opened fire on his uncle's front porch, killing five more people and his grandmother, who lived next door, authorities said. Then, he drove through town and fired seemingly at random, killing three more people. With police in pursuit, he ended up at the metals plant where he once worked, and shot himself after engaging in a shootout with law enforcement officers.
"He cleaned his family out," Coffee County Coroner Robert Preachers said.
McLendon was briefly employed by the police department in Samson in 2003 and spent about a week and a half at the police academy, dropping out before he received firearms training, said Col. Chris Murphy, director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. More recently, he worked nearly two years at food manufacturer and distributor Kelley Foods in Elba, about 25 miles north of where he shot most of his victims.
The company didn't specify what his position was, but said in a statement that he was a "reliable team leader" who was well liked, but quit last Wednesday.
Another employer was the Reliable Metal Products plant where he worked until 2003, when Geneva County District Attorney Kirke Adams said he was forced to resign. A co-worker there, Jerry Hysmith, echoed Kelley Foods' description, saying McClendon was shy, quiet and laid-back.
"Something had to snap," said Hysmith, 35, who lives in Samson, and worked with McClendon in 2001.
The victims were identified as McLendon's mother, Lisa McLendon, 52; his uncle, James Alford White, 55; his cousin, Tracy Michelle Wise, 34; a second cousin, Dean James Wise, 15; and his grandmother, Virginia E. White, 74. Also killed were James Irvin Starling, 24; Sonja Smith, 43; and Bruce Wilson Malloy, 51.
The wife and daughter of Geneva County Deputy Josh Myers, who was one of the law enforcement officers involved in the chase for McLendon, also died in the shooting spree. Andrea D. Myers, 31, was visiting the home with 18-month old Corrine Gracy Myers and 4-month-old Ella Myers when the shooting began.
Ella was flown to a hospital in Pensacola and was awaiting surgery for a wound to the leg caused by either a bullet or shrapnel. She was in fair condition, authorities said.
"I cried so much yesterday, I don't have a tear left in me," said the girl's father, who did not know McClendon. "I feel like I should be able to walk in the house and my wife would be there, my baby girl climbing on me."
The first killed Tuesday was McClendon's mother. Authorities said he put her on an L-shaped couch, piled stuff on top of her and set her afire. He said McClendon also shot four dogs at the house.
A dozen miles away, he gunned down the other relatives and sent panicked neighbors and family fleeing and ducking behind cars. His uncle's wife, Phyllis White, sought refuge in the house of neighbor Archie Mock.
"She was just saying, 'I think my family is dead, I think my family is dead,'" said Mock, 55.
He shot more victims at random as he drove toward the metals plant where he once worked. Smith was struck down as she walked out of a gas station. Malloy was hit while driving. Starling was shot as he walked.
Greg McCullough, a contractor who lives in the town, said he was pumping fuel at the gas station when the gunman roared into the parking lot and slammed on his brakes.
"I first thought it was somebody playing," McCullough said. Then he saw the rifle. McCullough was hit in the shoulder and arm with bullet fragments that struck his truck and the pump.
At the Reliable plant, McClendon got out of his car and fired at police with his assault rifle, wounding Geneva Police Chief Frankie Lindsey, authorities said. He then walked inside and killed himself.
Once investigators got a look at the ammunition he was carrying, they feared the bloodshed could have been worse. "I'm convinced he went over there to kill more people. He was heavily armed," said Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton.
The community was still in shock Wednesday.
"This was 20-something miles of terror in my district," said State Sen. Harri Anne Smith, R-Slocomb.
One of the spots sprayed with bullets was a hardware store in Samson. Yellow tape was strung across glass windows shattered by at least five bullets. A "closed" sign was on the ground outside atop glass shards.
Tommy Boyles, a 76-year-old security guard who works at the same plant where McLendon killed himself, said he and his wife were on the street nearby when McLendon passed. They feared they could have been one of his victims.
"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."
Comments
Posted by Ineedtobeheard (anonymous) on March 11, 2009 at 7:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is so terrible. I sit here reading this article and tears coming to my eyes for these poor defenseless victims. There is NO WAY they could have known what fate had in store for them....I just can't imagine what these families are going through, struggling to come to grips with this terrible, terrible, tragedy. Everyone please say a strong prayer for them....the future is so uncertain. We never know when our last days will be and under what circumstances we will take our last breath. I just still cannot believe what has happened to such a lazy little quiet town as Samson, Alabama. God bless everyone.
Posted by SEAN (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 1:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LETS JUST TAKE UP 2 DONATIONS. IT WILL BE ALL BETTER THEN. DEPUTY MEYERS LOST A WIFE AND CHILD AND HAS ANOTHER STILL IN THE HOSTPITAL. HE WORE A BADGE WHICH CONSTITUTES THAT HE IS THE ONLY ONE WORTH MENTIONING. HE DESERVES HIS OWN SPECIAL DONATION. HE SHOUL JUST BE SINGLED OUT. O WAIT, THATS WHAT IS GOING ON.
I FEEL FOR ALL THE VICTIMS FAMILIES INCLUDING THE FAMILY THAT IS LEFT FROM THE SUSPECT, VICTIM. IT WAS THE MOST UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT FOR ANY OF THEM. YET, ALL I HAVE HEARD ON THESE WEBSITES AND NEWSPAPERS AND ARTICLES AND WHATNOT, IS DEPUTY MEYERS
PEOPLE, DEPUTY MEYERS IS STILL ALIVE. ALLTHOUGH IT BE TERRIBLE FOR HIM, THERE ARE OTHER FAMILIES THAT LOST LOVED ONES TOO. HE IS NO DIFFERENT. HE HAS ALLREADY RECIEVED ONE DONATION MORE THAN THE OTHER VICTIMS DUE TO HIS OCCUPATION. ITS WRONG. ITS JUST WRONG
Posted by cagriffinbdx (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 2:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think it is a safe assumption to make when I say that if everyone would spend their time out fundraising for these victims instead of on this site verbally bashing those who are then the complaints over which victims are getting what money wouldn't be an issue. God bless.
Posted by SEAN (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 3:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i think its a safe assumption to say that 9 people who weren't family of officer meyers were killed by the same mad man with the same guns. i think its a safe assumption to read this article, as well as the other 3 or 4 others on this particular site, also, yahoo news, abc news, waka, that deputy meyers' loss is mentioned...but other than "the others" and names, nobody is showed the same recognition and gratitude as deputy meyers. its not right nor is it fair. again. i was helping this morning.
Posted by truebeliever (anonymous) on March 12, 2009 at 10:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They are all named and mentioned in the article above. every name and every age of every victim. I dont see where anyone is being left out.
Posted by SEAN (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 12:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
truebeliever, this is the ONLY article mentioning the names of the victims. all other articles say "11 killed INCLUDING wife and child of geneva county sheriff deputy josh meyers." why not 10 killed including garbage collector? why not say including 15 year old boy? why are they even mentioned atall? i'm sure deputy meyers doesn't want to see that his wife and child were killed every time he turns on a tv or radio. they should seriously take his name out, or mention other peoples families and occupations as well if they insist on making all of this public. not just him. what is so hard to understand here? the 9 others killed are just as important. does nobody see this? deputy meyers chased the bad guy while his family was slain. its sad. but were any of the other 9 killed at work or school? its his job. its what he does for a living. his wife and child are gone and his other in bad shape. it happened while he was doing his job. that happens to people every day. its called life. the fact that his family was shot is no different then the fact that 9 other people were killed as well. yet nobody seems to mention them or this fact. do they not deserve the same grief? who cares what the mans job is or what he was doing while this happened? if it was that important, why did they not mention about the young ladies husband and parents were doing while she was being shot coming out of the store. why is it not important to mention about the 24 year old man walking down the road? what were his mom and dad doing while he was being shot? what about the other victims?
what their jobs are and what they were doing while this evil was going on was irrelivant. but this officer who was doing his job that he does everyday is important, because his wife and 2 kids were shot? what is the the difference?
Posted by truebeliever (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 12:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I dont know what the difference is, but one thing that did bother me about that whole situation is that while his youngest baby was in the pensacola hospital , he was back in samson being interviewed by the media. ...am i the only one that caught that? I know he also has a son, but that child wasnt hurt, and his place was with the child that was injured..NOT infront of a camera on main street 100 miles away from her..just my opinion...:(
Posted by AnotherVoiceintheCrowd (anonymous) on March 13, 2009 at 1:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In Deputy Myers' defense, I'd tend to think that he felt it more important to stay with his older child who witnessed his mother and sister being shot and killed rather than the 3 month old baby who won't remember the incident. I do believe that the deputy's parents were with the baby at the hospital. This man was dealt a devastating blow and I suspect that much of what he is doing right now is somewhat autonomous and that he is somewhat numb even though he has some very hard tasks at hand to see through.
I honestly do not believe that any of us know exactly how we would act under the same circumstances.
Posted by SEAN (anonymous) on March 16, 2009 at 12:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i know i would dang sure tell them i want my "specially donated $3371" divided evenly among the families of ALL that were killed. at this time money should be the last thing on his mind. and i personally WOULD NOT have accepted it due to the fact that there were 9 other victims besides the 2 in my family.....just my opinio which everybody on here thinks is wrong.
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