Authorities identified the shooter as Michael McLendon, 28, of Kinston, Alabama, in Coffee County.

CNN: Gunman in Alabama slayings was briefly a police officer

"You watch the news all the time and you see things like this happening up in the bigger states like Texas and California, but here in our little community you would never expect anything like this to have happened, " said Nell Herring, owner of Granny's Country Kitchen restaurant in tiny Kinston, where alleged gunman Michael McLendon lived with his mother, Lisa, whom police say he also killed.

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Smith did not know Michael or Lisa McLendon.

CNN: Determination trumps fear in wake of Alabama rampage