Calif. Gunman Kills 1 at Christian Retreat

(AP) - Authorities say the Alabama gunman who killed 10 people and himself in a rampage yesterday had once trained as a police officer. Michael McLendon, 28, briefly went through officer training in 2003, but didn't complete the requirements to join the force. Investigators still aren't sure what led McLendon to go on the shooting spree in south Alabama. "He cleaned his family out," said one official. More»

Man, 27, charged with murder in 'deteriorating' mental state

(NEWSER) - The 27-year-old man charged today with murder and aggravated battery in yesterday’s Illinois church shooting was suffering mentally and physically from Lyme disease, his attorney tells the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat. Terry Joe Sedlacek was ordered held without bail, though he’s still in the hospital recovering from self-inflicted knife wounds, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds. More»

As confetti flew, Illinois parishioners thought it was a skit

(NEWSER) - What drove the shooting death of a pastor at an Illinois Baptist church service yesterday remains a mystery, as more details emerge, the Chicago Tribune reports. After exchanging words with the gunman who walked toward him, the pastor blocked the first of four rounds of bullets with a Bible, sending shreds of paper into the air. “When he shot, what you saw was confetti,” said one of about 1200 in the congregation. “We thought it was part of a drama skit.” More»

John Atterberry had worked with Jessica Simpson, Michael Jackson

(NEWSER) - The record executive who was critically wounded in Friday's Hollywood shooting rampage died last night, the AP reports. John Atterberry, 40, had been a vice president of Death Row Records, then home to Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre, before going on to work with artists including Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, and Michael Jackson, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

He wounds one driver before being fatally shot by police

(NEWSER) - A gunman indiscriminately opened fire at passing motorists in Hollywood today, hitting one person in the head who is now critically wounded, reports the Los Angeles Times . The gunman was then shot dead by two police officers who were on a nearby movie set and alerted by bystanders. The shooting took place on Vine Street, just south of the ArcLight movie theater. More»