Geneva County shootings

Last updated
Geneva County shootings
Map of Alabama highlighting Geneva County.svg
Location of Geneva County within the state of Alabama
Location Geneva and Samson, Alabama, U.S.
DateMarch 10, 2009;15 years ago (2009-03-10)
c. 3:30 – 4:17 p.m. [1] (EST)
Attack type
 Mass murder, murder-suicide, spree shooting, arson, matricide, mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths11 (including the perpetrator) [3]
Injured6 [4]
PerpetratorMichael Kenneth McLendon

On March 10, 2009, Michael Kenneth McLendon, 28, fatally shot ten people and wounded six others between the communities of Kinston, Samson, and Geneva, Alabama. McLendon's shooting spree was the deadliest mass shooting in Alabama's history. [5]

Contents

McLendon first killed his mother and burned down her house in the town of Kinston. Traveling to Samson, he killed his maternal grandmother, uncle, two cousins, and others, and wounded six. [6] When law enforcement reached him, McLendon committed suicide. He was said to have been depressed about lack of work; in a note he said that his mother's family was not giving him enough support.

Shootings

McLendon began his attacks at about 3:30 p.m. on March 10, 2009 at his mother's house where they lived in Kinston, a town of 540 residents. McLendon shot and killed his mother and their three dogs, and set the interior of the house on fire. He drove to his uncle's house in the small city of Samson, population about 2,000. There he shot his uncle, two cousins, a neighbor, and said neighbor's infant daughter, all of whom were sitting on the porch of his uncle and aunt's house. His aunt escaped the shooting uninjured because she was inside the house, while the neighbor's four-month-old daughter survived her gunshot wounds. McLendon then went next door and shot and killed his maternal grandmother. [7]

McLendon left his grandmother's home and started driving, shooting at people from his car. The first to die was 43-year-old Sonya Smith, a gas station attendant. McLendon next shot and killed Bruce Malloy, a 51-year-old motorist who drove past him. The last fatality was 24-year-old James Starling, whom McLendon shot in the back as he attempted to flee. McLendon also shot and wounded four other persons trying to escape his attack. [7] He drove along Highway 52 toward Geneva, continuing to shoot from his car, and eventually led police on a chase that ran 24 miles (39 km).[ citation needed ]

Law enforcement officers at one point used the PIT maneuver on the suspect's car, but he shot at them with a rifle, wounding Geneva police chief Frankie Lindsey in the arm, and kept going. McLendon reached Reliable Building Products, owned by Ruskin Company, where he had worked in 2003. After engaging in a shootout with police, he committed suicide inside the building. He had so much ammunition in his car that he appeared to have intended to kill many more people. [8] When law enforcement found McLendon dead from a gunshot, it was initially unclear whether the shot was self-inflicted. [9] Later reports said he committed suicide. [10]

The shooting spree lasted almost an hour before McLendon was found dead at 4:17 p.m. [1] He was found to have been armed with a Soviet-made SKS and a Bushmaster. He also had at least one .38 caliber pistol, police said. He fired more than 200 rounds, police said at a news conference. [7] A large amount of ammunition was found in his car. [7]

Victims

Among the victims were the suspect's mother and relatives from his maternal side: grandmother, uncle, and two cousins, as well as Andrea and Corinne Myers, the neighbor wife and daughter of deputy sheriff Josh Myers. Only the four-month-old Ella Myers, who was wounded, survived McLendon's shooting of the people sitting on the porch. Myers' four-year-old son was in the house and survived unharmed. His uncle and aunt had largely raised McLendon. His victims ranged in age from 18 months to 74 years old. [11]

In addition, McLendon shot from his car after he fled, killing strangers. According to a local police officer: [12]

Four were killed while sitting on a porch in Samson, one next door while inside a trailer. Two more were killed outside the Big and Little Store in Samson. The suspect was killed in the Reliable Products warehouse in Geneva by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He shot at several vehicles on the highway and then he shot at Wal-Mart and Piggly Wiggly in Geneva.

The victims were: [13]

  • Lisa White McLendon, 52, Michael McLendon's mother, killed at her home in Kinston
  • James Alford White, 55, McLendon's uncle, killed at the White home in Samson
  • Tracy Michelle Wise, 34, daughter of James White, McLendon's cousin, killed at the White home
  • Dean James Wise, 15, son of Tracy Wise, McLendon's cousin, killed at the White home
  • Andrea Dawn Myers, 31, neighbor of the Whites, killed at the White home
  • Corrine Gracy Myers, 18 months, daughter of Andrea Myers, killed at the White home
  • Virginia E. White, 74, McLendon's grandmother, killed at her home in Samson
  • Sonya Lolley Smith, 43, killed at a gas station in Samson
  • Bruce Wilson Malloy, 51, killed in Samson
  • James Irvin Starling, 24, killed in Samson

Perpetrator

Michael Kenneth McLendon (September 19, 1980 – March 10, 2009) was born in southern Alabama to Lisa McLendon (née White) and her husband. After his parents divorced, he was largely raised by his aunt and maternal uncle, Phyllis and James White, of Samson, Alabama. [14] He attended local schools. An "A" student in high school, he was known for being quiet; he graduated in 1999.

Unmarried, McLendon lived with his mother at her home in Kinston. This area of southern Alabama has had a depressed economy following the relocation of textile jobs overseas several years before. McLendon's work history showed a pattern of short tenure at jobs. He worked briefly with the police department in Samson, but failed to complete basic training at the state academy, washing out after a "week and a half." [1] He had worked at the Reliable Products warehouse in Geneva, where he was asked to leave in 2003. [15] He and his mother had worked at Pilgrim Foods, a poultry plant, and had filed suit with other workers when they were suspended in 2006. [7]

Most recently, McLendon worked at Kelley Foods, a sausage factory, but quit the job abruptly the Wednesday before the shootings. Supervisors there said that he was a team leader and well-liked. [15]

Motive

Witnesses said that McLendon was disturbed by his parents' divorce years ago, and had been depressed about his failure to start a career and disappointed that he had failed to qualify for the U.S. Marines or law enforcement. [1] He had recently complained that his mother was not getting enough support from her family. At the time of the shooting, officials did not know where his father was. [14] Detectives discovered a handwritten list by McLendon in his home which identified several people from previous jobs, with notations about their actions or comments against him, described as people who "had either disciplined him or had reported him to supervisors for work related infractions". [15] The Alabama Bureau of Investigation noted that none of the people named in the list were among those he killed, [7] but police were trying to determine if he had intended to attack them. [16]

Investigators found a letter in which McLendon said he had killed his mother and planned to commit suicide. The letter also noted he was having a dispute over a legal issue with his mother's family, as they held a family Bible that he wanted. [17] He said that he and his mother had "suffered enough". [18]

McLendon was described as very familiar with guns. The investigators "found dozens of ammunition boxes, military and survival gear and medical supplies at McLendon's Kinston home". [1]

Federal troops

In response to a request for assistance from the Geneva County Sheriff's Office and Samson Police, United States Army officers ordered federal troops from nearby Fort Rucker to be deployed to the streets of Samson. They manned traffic stops and guarded a makeshift morgue. An Army investigation later determined this action to be in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits federal troops from performing domestic law enforcement actions. The Army took administrative action against at least one officer. [19]

Reactions

The Andalusia radio station WAAO-FM organized a fund-raising event to benefit the victims' families. Their goal was $10,000 with the event; more than $47,000 in cash, plus donations of caskets and concrete vaults for each of the victims, brought the total value of donations to more than $100,000. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geneva County, Alabama</span> County in Alabama, United States

Geneva County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,659. Its county seat is Geneva. The county was named after its county seat, which in turn was named after Geneva, New York which was named after Geneva, Switzerland, by Walter H. Yonge, an early town resident and Swiss native. Geneva County is a dry county. However, beer and wine are sold in the city limits of Geneva, Samson, Slocomb, and most recently in Hartford, after residents voted to become wet in a 2022 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinston, Alabama</span> Town in Alabama, United States

Kinston is a town in Coffee County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 580. It is part of the Enterprise Micropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samson, Alabama</span> City in Alabama, United States

Samson is a city in Geneva County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census the population was 1,874, down from 1,940 in 2010. Samson incorporated in 1905, although other sources cited 1906.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matricide</span> Act of killing ones own mother

Matricide is the act of killing one's own mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Edward Pough</span> American spree killer

James Edward "Pop" Pough was an American spree killer who killed thirteen people in two separate attacks in Jacksonville, Florida on 17 and 18 June 1990. Pough shot and killed two people at random on Jacksonville's Northside, wounded two teenagers, and robbed a convenience store. Pough shot and killed nine people and wounded four others at a General Motors Acceptance Corporation car loan office the next day before committing suicide.

The SuccessTech Academy shooting was a school shooting that occurred on October 10, 2007, at the SuccessTech alternative high school in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Fourteen-year-old freshman Asa H. Coon shot two students and two teachers before committing suicide on the fourth floor of the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kauhajoki school shooting</span> Shooting in Finland in September 2008

The Kauhajoki school shooting occurred on 23 September 2008 at the Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences (SeAMK) in Kauhajoki, Finland. The gunman, 22-year-old student Matti Juhani Saari, shot and killed ten people with a Walther P22 Target semi-automatic pistol, before shooting himself in the head. He died a few hours later at Tampere University Hospital. One woman was injured but was in a stable condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Saipan shootings</span> Spree shooting in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

The 2009 Saipan shootings were a spree shooting that took place on the United States commonwealth island of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Ray Bonner</span>

William Ray Bonner is a former service station attendant who went on a shooting spree through the South Side area of Los Angeles, California on April 22, 1973, killing six people and wounding nine others. The rampage ended with his arrest after he had been injured in a shootout with police.

On July 7, 2011, a gunman killed seven people and wounded two others in a spree killing in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The deaths took place in two homes, with the two non-fatal gunshot injuries taking place on the road. The suspected gunman, Rodrick Shonte Dantzler, later killed himself after a police chase which left his vehicle disabled in a highway woodline and after he then took hostages in a nearby house for several hours. Those killed included Dantzler's estranged wife, their daughter, his former girlfriend, and members of the other victims' families. One of the non-fatal victims was also acquainted with Dantzler.

A spree shooting occurred in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča in the early hours of 9 April 2013. Fourteen people were killed and one, the gunman's wife, was injured. Police identified the gunman as 60-year-old Ljubiša Bogdanović, a relative of many of the victims. Bogdanović died of his injuries on 11 April 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Santa Monica shootings</span> Shooting spree in Santa Monica, California, US

On June 7, 2013, a spree shooting occurred in Santa Monica, California. Its catalyst was a domestic dispute and subsequent fire at a home, followed by a series of shootings near and on the Santa Monica College campus. Six people were killed, including the suspect, and four injured. The shooter — 23-year-old John Zawahri — was killed by police officers when he exchanged gunfire with them at the Santa Monica College library.

The 2014 Montgomery County shootings were a killing spree that occurred in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, on December 15, 2014. The killings began at about 3:30 a.m. A woman was found dead in Lower Salford Township, two others were found dead in Lansdale, and three more were found in Souderton along with a wounded teenage boy. Police identified the suspected killer as 35-year-old Bradley William Stone of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, and the victims were his ex-wife and her family members. Most of the victims were shot, although some were also stabbed with a knife. After an extensive manhunt, Stone was found dead on the day after the killings in the woods near his home. He reportedly committed suicide by overdosing on several drugs.

On February 26, 2015, a gunman shot and killed seven people in several locations across the town of Tyrone, an unincorporated community approximately 95 miles east of Springfield, Missouri, United States. The gunman, identified as 36-year-old Joseph Jesse Aldridge, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound the next day. It was the worst mass murder in the history of Texas County, which previously had experienced an average of one homicide per year. It is also the deadliest mass shooting in Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Munich shooting</span> Mass shooting in Munich, Germany

On 22 July 2016, a mass shooting occurred in the vicinity of the Olympia shopping mall in the Moosach district of Munich, Germany. An 18-year-old Iranian-German, David Sonboly, opened fire on fellow teenagers at a McDonald's restaurant before shooting at bystanders in the street outside and then in the mall itself. Nine people were killed, and 36 others were injured, four of them by gunfire. Sonboly then hid nearby for more than two hours, and killed himself by a self-inflicted gunshot wound when confronted by police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Fresno shootings</span> Racially motivated shooting spree in Fresno, California

On April 18, 2017, a racially motivated shooting spree occurred in Fresno, California, leaving three white people dead. The gunman, Kori Ali Muhammad, a black supremacist, was convicted of four murders and four attempted murders. Muhammad said he went on his shooting spree because of his hatred for white people and particularly white men. Muhammad fired off 17 shots, shooting and killing three men, shooting at and missing another three men, and shooting at a vehicle with passengers inside. The passengers of the vehicle were unharmed. All of Muhammad's victims were white.

A mass shooting occurred on September 24, 2017, when a gunman opened fire at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tennessee, part of the Greater Nashville area, killing one person and injuring six others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rancho Tehama shootings</span> 2017 shooting spree in Rancho Tehama, California, US

On November 13–14, 2017, a series of shootings occurred in Rancho Tehama, an unincorporated community in Tehama County, California, U.S. The gunman, 44-year-old Kevin Janson Neal, died by suicide after a Corning police officer rammed and stopped his stolen vehicle. During the shooting spree, five people were killed and eighteen others were injured at eight separate crime scenes, including an elementary school. Ten people suffered bullet wounds and eight were cut by flying glass caused by the gunfire. The injured victims were transported to several area clinics and hospitals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland–Odessa shootings</span> Spree shooting in Midland and Odessa, Texas

On August 31, 2019, a spree shooting occurred in the West Texas cities of Midland and Odessa, involving a gunman shooting multiple people from a vehicle. Eight people were killed, including the perpetrator, and twenty-five people were injured, including three police officers. It was the third major mass shooting to take place in the United States in August 2019, following the El Paso Walmart shooting and the Dayton shooting.

On January 9, 2021, 32-year-old Jason Nightengale shot and killed five people during a shooting spree that began on Chicago's South Side and ended in Evanston before being fatally shot by police.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Sadeed, Ahmed; Dave Alsup (2009-03-11). "Gunman in Alabama slayings was briefly a police officer". CNN. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  2. ↑ "Assault Weapons, Weak Gun Laws Enable Dangerous People Like The Alabama Man Who Killed 10". Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. 2009-03-11. Archived from the original on 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  3. ↑ "5 dead in Alabama shooting; FBI to assist investigation". CNN. 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  4. ↑ Officials Identify Alabama Gunman, The New York Times (March 11, 2009)
  5. ↑ Robinson, Carol (August 23, 2016). "Alabama's most notorious mass murders: 64 people killed in 12 massacres". Alabama Live. Retrieved September 5, 2016. Ten people were killed and six wounded in the worst mass shooting in Alabama history by a lone gunman who had a list of employers 'who had done him wrong,' including the nearby sausage plan he quit days before spree and a metal factory where he shot himself.
  6. ↑ Gresko, Jessica; Desiree Hunter (2009-03-10). "Alabama Shooting Spree Leaves 10 Dead, FBI To Investigate". HuffPost. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Steve Osunsami, et al., "Cops Close to Motive in Murderous Rampage", ABC News, 11 March 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2012
  8. ↑ Ayres, Chris (2009-03-11). "Ten dead as Alabama gunman goes on the rampage". The Times.
  9. ↑ "Officials: Gunman, 4 others killed in south Alabama". Associated Press. 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  10. ↑ McFadden, Cynthia; Bill McGuire (2009-03-10). "Spree Terrifies Small Ala. Towns". ABC News . Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  11. ↑ AP,Catherine Donaldson-Evans (2009-03-11). "Gunman in Alabama Massacre Had Hit List". Fox News. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  12. ↑ "Eight dead in Alabama shooting spree - police". Reuters . 2009-03-11. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  13. ↑ Victims of the Geneva County shooting Archived 2009-03-17 at the Wayback Machine , Dothan Eagle (March 11, 2009)
  14. 1 2 Shaila Dewan, "Officials Identify Alabama Gunman", The New York Times, 12 March 2009, 29 December 2012
  15. 1 2 3 EMILY FRIEDMAN, "Alabama Shooter McLendon Was 'Quiet'", ABC News, 11 March 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2012
  16. ↑ Jessica Gresko and Desiree Hunter (2009-03-11). "Ala. gunman left list of those who wronged him". ABC. Retrieved 2009-03-11.[ dead link ]
  17. ↑ "Report: Ala. killer left note explaining spree". NBC News. Associated Press. 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  18. ↑ AP, 23 April 2009, 29 December 2012
  19. ↑ "Troop use After Ala. Shootings Illegal". Military.com. Associated Press. 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  20. ↑ "Alabama Shootings Donations". WTOK-TV. March 14, 2009. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2011.

31°02′17″N85°52′36″W / 31.03806°N 85.87667°W / 31.03806; -85.87667

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.