Alabama Shooting Victims Identified

As law enforcement officials tried to come up with a motive for the most deadly murder spree in the state's history, the residents of two south Alabama counties began to mourn the loss of 11 of their friends and neighbors. In the home of the killer, Michael Kenneth McLendon, police found a list of people he thought had "done him wrong."

Authorities believe Monday's shooting spree was planned to be even more deadly.

Armed with two semiautomatic assault rifles and at least two semiautomatic handguns, McLendon went on a shooting rampage that "wiped out his family," left 11 people dead and several others wounded in the small southern Alabama towns of Kinston, Samson and Geneva.

Police say one of McLendon's weapons had illegally been converted to an automatic weapon. They found survivalist and military gear in his home, including bullet-proof vests.

As Samson city councilman Roger Baine, told The Dothan Eagle, residents are stunned and healing has yet to begin in the small community where he owns an auto parts store.

"When you are in a community of 2,000 people, you do know everybody," he said. "This is one of those tragic things you just don't understand. It's terrible."

A Grim List of Victims

As crimes scenes all over town were begin processed and witness statements taken, the names of McLendon's victims were released to the media.

• Lisa White McLendon, 52, McLendon's mother, was the first to die. Police confirmed that she was shot to death before her home she shared with her son was set on fire.

• James Alford White, 55, was killed with four others on the front porch of his home at 201 W. Pullum St. He was McLendon's uncle.

• Tracy Michelle Wise, 34, the daughter of Alford White and McLendon's first cousin. She lived at 204 W. Pullum and like her father was a former Samson city employee.

• Dean James Wise, 15, Tracy Wise's son. He was a ninth grade student at Samson High School.

• Andrea D. Myers, 31, who lived across the street from Alford Wise and was visiting. She was the wife of Sheriff's deputy Josh Myers, one of the officers involved in the chase of McLendon.

• Corinne Gracy Myers, 18 months, daughter of Andrea and Josh Myers.

• Ella Myers, 3 months old, the daughter of Andrea Myers was wounded in the shooting and saved by a neighbor, Alina Knowles, who grabbed the blood-covered baby from the porch and hid behind a minivan as McLendon continued shooting. The Myers also had a 4-year-old son who was found hiding in their home afterwards.

• Virginia E. White, 74, McLendon's grandmother, who lived in a mobile home in the yard of her son Alford White. When she heard the shots and came to her front door, McLendon shot her.

• James Irvin Starling, 24, a stranger to McLendon who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, walking down Wise Street in Samson to visit his best friend when he was shot and killed.

• Sonja Lolley Smith, 43, killed as she was walking out of a gas station/convenience store on Main Street in Samson.

• Greg McCullough, 49, who was wounded, but not killed, at the convenience store and tried to help Sonja Smith.

• Bruce Wilson Malloy, 51, who was killed while driving on Hwy. 52 between Samson and Geneva. Another stranger killed by McLendon.

• Jeffrey Lynn Nelson, 50, who happened to be on Main Street when McLendon drove by and wounded him.

• Mike Gillis, an Alabama State Trooper was injured by broken glass when McLendon shot at him while he was pursuing him on Hwy. 52.

• Frankie Lindsey, Geneva Police Chief, who shot in the shoulder in front of the Geneva Wal-Mart as he chased McLendon. He was saved by his bullet-proof vest.

The final victim was Michael McLendon himself, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot after exchanging fire at Reliable Metal Products in Geneva where he once worked. His death came less than an hour after his killing spree began at his home in Kinston.

Community Tries to Recover

Many of the residents of Samson, a town with a population of 2,100, gathered at the First Baptist Church Wednesday for a community prayer service, as the community tries to deal with the tragedy. Like many others in Samson, high school baseball coach Chris Reid said he knew almost all the victims.

"Everybody knows everybody," he told CNN. "Everybody's always been willing to go out of their way to help people in need around here, no matter what the case may be. It's just a small town where you consider your friends as family."

See Also:
Town Pulls Together After Killing Rampage
As Gunman Roamed Streets, Neighbor Rushed to Save Infant
Officials Identify Alabama Gunman
Alabama Shooter Wiped Out His Family
A Block of Hell

Earlier Article:
11 Dead in Alabama Shooting Spree

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