Seven people are dead from a mass shooting in a home in Morgan County, Alabama.
Police said three women and four men were killed in a shooting that took place on Thursday night. Deputies arrived on the scene in response to a call about gunshots and found part of the house was burning. The bodies were discovered after the fire was extinguished.
Recommended Stories
“It is a horrific scene, and to be able to process it will take some time,” said Mike Swafford, a public information officer for the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. “We don’t have a motive at this time. We don’t have a determined suspect at this time. Investigators are following leads to piece together exactly what happened and who was involved. We can say we don’t believe there is an active threat to anybody in the area.”
A neighbor told AL.com that the home was known for “heavy drug activity.” The sheriff’s department confirmed that there have been several calls to the home related to drug issues.
House in rural Morgan County where 7 people were shot to death overnight. Neighbor said house known for heavy drug activity. Sheriff dept. said received frequent calls to house, including drugs. pic.twitter.com/ZkYqJMvJ44
— Paul Gattis (@paul_gattis) June 5, 2020
Swafford confirmed that some, but not all, of the victims lived in the home. He said the department believes the shooter intended to kill everyone present and the victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Swafford said the fire was likely started to cover up the crime.
“Incredibly heinous, talking coldblooded,” he said.
In a press conference on Friday afternoon, the sheriff’s department revealed that two white men, two black men, and three white women were among the dead. Authorities noted that they do not have any suspects in custody but do not believe there is a larger threat to the community.
The shooting is one of Alabama’s largest mass shootings in the past decade.
