Va. Shooting Suspect Rigged House With Bombs

Family property dispute may be motive, says acquaintance
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 20, 2010 3:31 PM CST
Va. Shooting Suspect Rigged House With Bombs
This image shows shooting suspect Christopher Speight, 39, who is being sought in connections with the fatal shootings of eight people in Appomattox, Va., Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010.   ((AP Photo/Virginia State Police))

Police say they've found a "multitude" of explosive devices at the Virginia home of a man suspected of killing eight people. Police were detonating them to make them safe. Christopher Bryan Speight surrendered early today after police say the 39-year-old spent the night hiding in the woods. Authorities haven't disclosed the motive for the shootings or how the victims and shooter were related, but it may have stemmed from a property dispute with family.

The co-owner of a local market where Speight worked as a security guard told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that Speight and his sister were feuding over the home they inherited from their mother. "Chris felt like they were trying to get him out of the house, and it was his (house), too," she said. Speight's married sister apparently lived with him, but reports are conflicting on whether Speight himself had a wife and children.
(More Virginia stories.)

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