9 killed in Alabama shooting attacks

A gunman went on a rampage in two southernAlabama towns on Tuesday, killing nine people before he shot himself at a metals plant, authorities said.

Police are investigating at least four separate shootings, all believed to be done by one gunman, whose name was not released, the Alabama Department of Safety said in a statement.

The shootings began late in the afternoon in Samson. It's believed the shooter killed five people in one home and one each in two other homes.

Thegunman then shot at a state trooper's car, striking the vehicle seven times and wounding the trooper with broken glass, police said.

They believe the same man then killed someone at a Samson supply store and another person at a service station, the Safety Department said.

Police pursued the gunman to Reliable Metal Products just north of Geneva, where he fired an estimated 30 rounds, they said. One of the bullets hit the Geneva police chief, who was saved by his bulletproof vest, the safety department said.

The gunmanthen went in the plant and shot himself, the statement said.

The towns of Geneva and Samson are about18kilometres apart, and roughly48 kilometressouth of Fort Rucker, near the Florida border in southeastern Alabama.