Missouri: A gunman killed seven people in several homes in the southern Missouri town of Tyrone before turning a gun on himself, authorities said Friday.
A ninth person – an elderly woman – was found dead but "appeared to have died from natural causes," according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The victims, four men and three women, were killed within Texas County at four homes. Police said the suspected shooter wasa 36-year-old Joseph Aldridge, found slumped over the steering wheel of his truck in the middle of the highway, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police identified four of the victims, thought to be Aldridge's cousins: Garold Dee Aldridge, 52; Julie Ann Aldridge, 47; Harold Wayne Aldridge, 50; and Janell Arlisa Aldridge, 48. Authorities would not say what relationship the remaining three victims had with the suspected shooter, and were still contacting their next of kin. The motive is also still under investigation.
"It is a small community out there; everybody knows everybody, but as far as what their personal relationship is, I couldn't tell you," Texas County Sheriff James Sigman said.
Authorities said a juvenile girl called on Thursday night to report a "disturbance" at her home. When she heard gunshots, she immediately fled to a neighbour's house. Police responding to the call found two bodies at the girl's home.
Later, five other bodies and one injured woman were found at three other homesin Tyrone. The elderly woman, 74-year-old Alice Aldridge, who police confirmed was the shooter's mother, was discovered at a fifth home. The injured victim was transported to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
"In our job we see a lot of bad stuff, and this is bad," Sergeant Jeff Kinder, a spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said at a news conference. "This is hard on the police officers out there. I'm sure they were as shocked as a lot of the people were."
Alice Aldridge was found dead on her couch when police went to her house looking for the shooter, according to the Post-Dispatch. She had been dead for at least 24 hours, but there were no visible signs of trauma, Texas County Coroner Tom Whittaker said.
He told media that investigators thought finding his mother dead might have triggered the shooter's rampage.
"We're speculating that he came home and found her deceased and then for whatever reason went on a rampage and started killing people," Whittaker said. "This is just so strange. Right now, with the shooter dead, we don't know. Is there something that sparked this? We're still in the information-gathering stage."
Washington Post
