Rampaging gunman kills seven, then himself after mum dies

Residents of a small southern Missouri town are struggling to come to grips with the knowledge that one of their own killed seven people in a spasm of violence that ended when the gunman killed himself on a rural county road.

Joseph Jesse Aldridge, 36, went to four homes in the town of Tyrone in Texas County late on Thursday, killing relatives and neighbours but sparing two teenagers.

He was found dead in a vehicle in neighbouring Shannon County, about 40 kilometres away.

Aldridge’s 74-year-old mother, Alice, was found dead in a home she shared with her son as officers went door to door to search for other victims. An autopsy found she died of natural causes, Texas County Coroner Tom Whitaker said.

Alice Aldridge had a history of breast cancer and had lung cancer, said Whitaker, adding investigators assumed she was not a victim of violence but wanted to be ‘‘100 per cent’’ sure.

Autopsies were not performed on the other victims, who all lived in Tyrone, about 64km north of the Arkansas border.

The death from natural causes of Joseph Aldridge’s mother, with whom he lived, may have triggered the killings.

‘‘Since the shooter killed himself, and we’re certain he is the shooter and the weapon he killed himself with, the ammunition he used, all match the victims, the prosecuting attorney felt there was no need for autopsies,’’ Whittaker said. ‘‘We knew how they died.’’

Texas County Sheriff James Sigman yesterday identified three of the victims as Darrell Dean Shriver, 68; his son, Carey Dean Shriver, 46, and Carey’s wife, Valirea Love Shriver, 44. The name

Police tape surrounds one of the houses where Joseph Aldridge carried out his shooting rampage. of a 67-year-old woman who was wounded was not released. She was being treated at a Springfield hospital.

John W Shriver, 72, said he found the bodies of Carey and Valirea on a bedroom floor of their home after his cousin Darrell’s wife called screaming and asking him to find Carey.

The couple’s 13-year-old son, also named John Shriver, slept through the killings and was found in his bed. The elder John Shriver later learned Darrell had died and his wife was injured.

Shriver said it was unclear why his cousins were killed.

Residents speculated on Saturday that the death of Aldridge’s mother might have triggered the rampage but investigators were still trying to determine a motive.

The shootings came to light when a 13-year-old girl ran to a neighbour’s house for help after hearing gunshots at her home. The girl called the emergency dispatcher from the neighbour’s home and while officers were responding to that call they heard of another shooting.

Authorities identified them on Saturday as two couples, Garold Dee Aldridge, 52, and his wife, Julie Ann, 47; and Harold Wayne Aldridge, 50, and his wife, Janell Arlisa, 48.

Both men were cousins of Joseph Aldridge.