McLendon planned killing spree that left 11 dead

Michael McLendon was not obsessed with guns as much as he was with shooting, and when he rode through Samson on the afternoon of March 10, firing indiscriminantly at passers-by, he was smiling.

McLendon, who killed 10 and then himself in the deadliest mass shooting in Alabama history, had been planning to kill his mother, himself and others at a later date, but moved up his plan after his mother was suspended from her job just before the killing spree.

Related:

Photos of evidence collected by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and Coffee County District Attorney’s Office during an investigation of Michael McLendon.
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911 calls and radio dispatches

Fire at Lisa McLendon’s home: 911 call | 911 call | Dispatch | Dispatch

911 calls from eyewitnesses of the shooting: Call 1 | Call 2

Communication between law enforcement and 911 calls: 911 Call | Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3 |  Clip 4 | Clip 5 | Clip 6 | Clip 7 | Clip 8

 

Many of the details of the events leading up to the deadly assault were revealed in a 25-page investigative summary report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and the Coffee County District Attorney’s Office. The information was made available in response to an Alabama Open Records request from the Dothan Eagle.

Because the incidents took place in two counties over several jurisdictions, numerous law enforcement agencies took part in investigating all or part of the day’s events. A similar request for information sent to the Alabama Bureau of Investigation was denied. A separate request to the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office has not been answered.

Authorities found a printed letter from McLendon to a family member in a mailbox near his home in Kinston, hours after his mother was found murdered in the home along with the family dogs. The letter indicated his intent to kill her and others:

Moma was very sick. Had lung cancer I think. So I put her out of her misery. She wanted to die with her dog’s and she did. I put the dog’s to sleep as well. I couldn’t leave this world not knowing what would happen to our dog’s. Moma didn’t know what hit her. I shot her while she was asleep. She never knew what hit her. Nor did the dog’s.

Please For Give me, Michael

Lisa McLendon was suspended from her job March 8. Her suspension letter indicated she would be allowed to return March 17. Evidence indicates Michael McLendon quit his job at Kelley Foods March 4. He did not give employers a reason.

After the events in Kinston, McLendon drove to Samson, armed with a small arsenal. Investigators found 22 empty ammunition boxes in the Kinston home. He killed other family members in Samson and then began firing at random people throughout town. Coffee County 911 received at least two calls from people who said McLendon shot at them, including one from a woman who was close enough to see his face.

“He was shooting all the way down 52 headed toward Geneva ... He shot at me ... He was shooting at everybody. He was shooting out of both sides of the car ... He had glasses on. He was unshaven. He had brown hair, and he was smiling. I was that close to him as he was doing it,” said a woman who called Coffee County 911 after traveling from Samson to Kinston.

Police chased McLendon into Geneva, where he engaged in a shootout with law enforcement before traveling to Reliable Products on State Highway 27. He engaged in another shootout with law enforcement before entering the business and killing himself. Police believe McLendon fired more than 200 rounds.

Evidence collected from the McLendon home indicates he had an obsession with shooting and gunfights. Coffee County Sheriff’s and District Attorney investigators recovered about 40 DVDs dealing with firing weapons in combat situations. Among the titles of the DVDs were “Move! Shoot. Learn to survive a gunfight”, “Shooting at and from moving vehicles”, “Advanced guide to Combat Shooting and Gunfight Survival” and “Rapid Firepower — Submachine Guns … Assault Rifles … The Urban Battlefield.”

Other evidence collected included about a dozen DVDs depicting various types of pornography, two loaded 410 shotguns and a bayonet which had been stuck into a can of paint thinner, which was believed to be the accelerant used to start a fire that burned part of the home.

Other evidence revealed glimpses of a man who failed in attempts to be a Marine and a police officer and who made notes about coworkers who he believed had wronged him.

A letter written by McLendon to his mother soon after his high school graduation hinted at what would soon be a futile attempt at becoming a Marine.

“Can’t swim ... can’t do enough pullups ... shoulder problems ... not making the grade,” McLendon wrote.

He was discharged from Marine basic training in October of 1999 for “fraudulent entry”, apparently failing to disclose that he suffered from chronic shoulder dislocations. In a discharge letter from Marine Corps Capt. D.H. Peterson, Jr., he wrote, “He needs to improve his physical strength and confidence … He does not appear mentally sharp.”

In September of 2003, he was discharged from the regional police academy in Montgomery when he failed his physical. Evidence collected indicates the City of Samson billed McLendon for $227 for charges incurred while he was in Montgomery attending the academy.

Michael McLendon was born Michael Kenneth West on Sept. 19, 1980, the son of Lisa and Randell West. They divorced just four months later. Lisa soon married David McLendon and David McLendon officially adopted Michael in 1985, and Michael took on the McLendon name. Lisa and David McLendon divorced in 1992.

Many who knew Michael McLendon said he appeared well adjusted. Samson Mayor Clay King coached McLendon in Pee Wee and Little League baseball.

“He was always very respectful, did what he was asked to do,” King said. “He was kind of quiet, but not to the point that you would consider it abnormal.”

And Lisa McLendon appeared to love her son. A family Bible was found in the McLendon home. Inside the front cover are two paragraphs, apparently written by Lisa McLendon:

On September 19, 1980 Michael Kenneth (McLendon) was born in Wiregrass Hospital, Geneva Alabama. He was born at 1:31 that afternoon. He weighed 8 lb. 13 oz. and was 20 1/2’’ long. This was the happiest day of my life.

As Michael grows older, he becomes a more important part of my life. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I love you son.