it must be in the water
It's starting to seen that way
Ala. police kill suspects after separate shootings
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Police in Alabama say a SWAT team shot dead a man wielding an assault rifle following a chase touched off by a triple killing, hours after a separate weekend shooting at a hospital in the state.
Saturday's shootings continued a violent several days in Alabama.
East of Birmingham, police said the man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle was shot at the end of a pursuit following a triple killing in Cleburne County, near the Georgia state line, authorities said. Residents of a mobile home park reported hearing gunshots Saturday morning and alerted police, touching off the chase, Cleburne Sheriff's office Investigator Michael Gore told The Anniston Star.
Investigator Dennis Green of the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office told the newspaper that the three gunshot victims in the triple killing were males but authorities did not immediately identify them further.
Authorities said officers pursued the suspect into the Alabama community of Oxford, where the man crashed a car near a busy interchange. Authorities said the suspect fired at police with the AK-47, wounding one police officer, who was reported in critical condition.
The suspect "exited the vehicle and started shooting at the officers," Oxford police Chief Bill Partridge said. "The officers returned fire."
Authorities said the suspect then carjacked a vehicle at the intersection, though the occupants were able to escape. Police said they caught up with the suspect nearby as he crashed the car into another vehicle while being pursued by authorities.
Partridge said the suspect reached for the assault rifle as he exited the car. Two members of an Oxford police SWAT team fatally shot him about 12:40 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Late Saturday, Oxford police identified the deceased suspect as 33-year-old Romero Roberto Moya of Heflin.
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Hours earlier on Saturday, Jason Letts, 38, of Jemison opened fire before dawn at a hospital in Birmingham, wounding a police officer and two employees before being shot and killed by another officer, according to authorities.
Police were sent to St. Vincent's Hospital around 4 a.m. to respond to a report of an armed man inside. Two officers who arrived separately converged on the suspect on the hospital's fifth floor.
"When the officer encountered the suspect, there was immediate gunfire from the suspect," Birmingham Police Sgt. Johnny Williams said. He said detectives were still trying to establish a motive.
A handful of cardiac patients and several staff members were on the fifth floor, hospital spokeswoman Liz Moore told reporters at a news conference later Saturday. She said patient care was not interrupted despite the events.
Alabama has been dealing with a rash of shootings of late.
Man fires some 50 shots at Calif. mall parking lot
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A man was arrested Saturday after firing about 50 shots in the parking lot of a Southern California shopping mall, prompting a lockdown of stores crowded with holiday shoppers.
Marcos Gurrola, 42, of Garden Grove was taken into custody by bicycle police officers patrolling around the open-air Fashion Island mall around 4:30 p.m., police spokeswoman Cathy Lowe said. She said he fired into the air and onto the ground in the parking lot near a Macy's department store.
No one was injured, but the gunfire caused panic.
The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers and the parking lot was full. Witnesses said they ran, screaming and ducking for cover.
Lowe says some stores voluntarily closed their doors and kept shoppers inside while police investigated.
Gurrola was arrested for investigation of assault with a deadly weapon, Lowe said.
There was no telephone listing for Gurrola.
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