Police: 7 fatally shot, gunman dead in southeastern Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A gunman went house to house, fatally shooting seven people and wounding one overnight in a small southern Missouri town before apparently committing suicide in a vehicle, authorities said Friday.

The victims were found in four different homes in the unincorporated town of Tyrone about 40 miles north of the Arkansas border. The body of the 36-year-old suspect was discovered in neighboring Shannon County, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Kinder said Friday morning.

Kinder did not release any information about a possible motive for the shootings or whether the gunman, who was from Tyrone, and the victims were connected. He said the victims' names won't be released until all relatives are notified.

The Texas County Sheriff's office received a call about 10:15 p.m. Thursday from a young woman who said she had fled to a neighbor's home after hearing gunshots in her house, Kinder said. When officers arrived, they found two people dead in that home.

Officers later found five more people who were fatally shot and one injured person in three additional homes. The injured person was taken to a hospital.

The body of an older woman was found in another home, but appeared to have died of natural causes, Kinder said, adding, "We're not calling her a victim at this time."

Texas County coroner Tom Whittaker said investigators were still working at the scenes Friday morning.

"To my recollection, we've never had anything like this," Whittaker said.

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