SAMSON, Ala. (AP) – Authorities say at 10 people have been shot and killed in two south Alabama towns, including the gunman.

The Alabama Department of Safety says at least four shootings by a single gunman left at least nine people dead before he killed himself.

The department says in a statement that the shootings began late Tuesday afternoon in Samson. The shooter killed five people in one home and one each in two other homes.

The gunman then shot at a state trooper’s car, striking the vehicle seven times and wounding the trooper with broken glass.

Police pursued him to Reliable Metal Products just north of Geneva, where he fired an estimated 30 rounds.

The statement says the gunman then went in the business and shot himself.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

SAMSON, Ala. (AP)—At least seven people were shot and killed Tuesday in south Alabama, including the gunman, officials said.

Six people were confirmed dead in the town of Samson, said police dispatcher Jim Stromenger.

Samson Police Chief Gary Weeks said the suspect was shot and killed. But it is unclear whether it was self-inflicted or whether he was shot by police near the Reliable Metal Products company outside neighboring Geneva.

Stromenger said the gunman started firing at a gas station in Samson, shooting a woman there.

He then went to a Samson home and shot five people, Stromenger said. He said it was unclear how the shooter might have been related to the people at the house.

Stromenger said the shooter then drove 12 miles east to Geneva “and apparently he shot some people there and he made it to Reliable metal and that’s where the incident ended.”

The suspect’s name was not released.

The Alabama Bureau of Investigation said it would have a statement later on the shootings.

Reliable Metal Products makes grills and vents for heating and AC systems, mainly for hotels. A call to a person who answered the phone at the plant said no one could talk about the shooting.

The towns of Geneva and Samson are about 11 miles apart, and roughly 30 miles south of Fort Rucker, near the Florida border in southeast Alabama. Geneva’s population is about 4,400 and Samson, 2,000.
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