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Barry Tucker of the state Bureau of Investigation said Michael McLendon, 28, sent a letter to authorities saying he had killed his mother and planned to kill himself, WSFA-TV in Montgomery reported. He did not mention plans for the killing spree in Samson that left his grandmother, uncle, two cousins and five others dead.

McLendon worked briefly for the Samson Police Department, failing to complete training at the state police academy. He enlisted in the Marines but was discharged for having provided false information.

Coffee County District Attorney Gary McAliley said investigators found a piece of paper with a list of people McLendon had worked with and reasons he was annoyed with them.

Investigators said no one else was involved in McLendon's killing spree Tuesday. He first killed his mother, Lisa, 52, and their dog and then set her home in Kinston on fire.

McLendon then traveled 12 miles southeast to Samson in Geneva County, where he shot five people sitting on the porch of his uncle's house and then went to his grandmother's. He also shot a woman outside her house and fired into at least three stores, killing two more people.

He killed himself during a confrontation with police in Geneva.

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