Virginia suspect 'hid explosives'

[Guest guest]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8471485.stm

Page last updated at 21:31 GMT, Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Virginia suspect 'hid explosives'

Police say they have found a " multitude " of explosives at a home in the US state

of Virginia where eight people were shot on Tuesday.

Bomb experts searched the rural property after the suspect in the shootings gave

himself up after an all-night manhunt.

Police say they are exploding the devices hidden both in and outside the

suspect's house.

Medical examiners will try to identify the victims once the area is secured.

'Weapons-trained'

The suspect is reported to have been personally acquainted with the victims.

The man, named as Speight, 39, turned himself in at about 0710 (1210

GMT) after an all-night stand-off with police, who had surrounded woodland just

outside the town of Appomattox.

The local sheriff said Mr Speight was wearing a bullet-proof vest when he

surrendered, but was not armed and did not need any medical attention.

Sheriff O Staples said the suspect had shot at a helicopter which had

been called to the scene, hitting its fuel tanks and forcing it to land.

Police are still searching for the high-powered rifle he is believed to have

used. The sheriff said that based on the weapons found in the house, it was

likely the suspect had been trained in the use of firearms.

'Motive unclear'

Mr Speight has been taken to Appomattox regional jail, pending charges.

A spokesman for Virginia's governor said the suspect was being debriefed and was

being very co-operative, although a motive for the shooting was still being

investigated.

News of the shootings broke on Tuesday afternoon and everyday life in the area

was paralysed, with local schools closing down as police hunted for the gunman.

The authorities were first alerted when they received a call about an injured

person lying in the middle of a road.

When a deputy arrived at the scene, he heard gunfire and called for back-up.

The injured man was taken to hospital where he died of his wounds.

Police from across the state were brought into the densely wooded area, which is

about 100 miles (160km) south-west of Virginia's capital, Richmond.

Police dogs and a National Guard helicopter with thermal imaging equipment were

used to search the woods.

Local connections

Mr Speight is the co-owner of the house in Snapps Mill Road, where the first

reported victim was found.

He also owns a large tract of land next to the house.

The Washington Post quoted local officials as saying two of the dead were

believed to be his wife and son.

Police found three bodies inside the house and another four outside. The eighth

victim was the man found injured in the street.

County Administrator Aileen Ferguson said it was one of the worst mass killings

in Virginia's history, " probably the worst since the Virginia Tech killings in

2007 " , when a student shot 32 people .

[Guest guest]

wrote excerpted;

> This happened not far west of here.

I am glad you and your family are OK, (am concerned about 'collateral damage'

when some one with a weapon is determined to kill.)

Am also concerned about the media profiling after such an event; where (Often

not Always) the killer is described as a loner or anti social or kept to

himself.

That may add to society's already biased opinion of loners....

Many of us are loners, keep to ourselves, are not overly friendly, but are not

inclined to go on a murdering rampage!!!

Conversely, though we don't know how many unstable possibly violence- prone

people are 'out there' (like the itinerant truck driver described)

ON a different point of view, some years back I did read a book by a Christian

author who felt many of us 'ordinary people' could be stressed to such a degree

that we might commit murder on the spur of the moment, a 'crime of passion.'

The above are rambling thoughts, have to go to work now.

rl

>

> This happened not far west of here. Appomattox is the place where General

> Lee surrender U.S. " The Butcher " Grant.

>

> I've been noticing at least one story per week about mass shooting for the

> last few months. Now, these things have always happened, but they are

> getting more play now. Perhaps the economy is pushing some people over the

edge

> or maybe the media is just hyping it more as an angle for tougher gun

> regulations or confiscations. Obama has signed us up to some UN treaties that

> easily could be used to take away guns and is likely to sign more of the

> same.

>

> As an aside, there was an incident like this near my place in Alabama in

> the 1990s. An itinerate truck driver had been working for a logging

> contractor for a few weeks. The guy was kind of nuts though and really lost

it one

> day at his boss, getting so violent that the boss called the police. The man

> was gone by the time the police arrived, so they went to his house to look

> for him. When they got there the man was gone, but there were boobytraps

> all around the yard (his house was way back off the main road) and maybe

> even some inside the house (not too sure about that since that part was never

> made clear). So far as I know they guy never turned up again, at least not

> around there.

>

>

>

>

> In a message dated 1/20/2010 5:37:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,

> no_reply writes:

>

> Virginia suspect 'hid explosives'

>

> Police say they have found a " multitude " of explosives at a home in the US

> state of Virginia where eight people were shot on Tuesday.

>