Geneva County Massacre - Timeline of Events

Timeline of Events

McLendon began his attacks about 3:30 p.m. on March 10, 2009 at his mother's house where he lived in Kinston; he shot and killed his mother and their three dogs, and set the interior of the house on fire. He then went to his uncle's house in Samson and killed him, two cousins, and a neighbor and her daughter, all of whom were sitting on the porch. His aunt escaped uninjured, while the neighbor's four-month-old daughter survived her gunshot wounds. McLendon then went next door and killed his grandmother.

He then left his grandmother's home and started driving, shooting at people from his car. The first to die was 43-year-old Sonya Smith, a gas station attendant. He then shot and killed Bruce Malloy, a 51-year-old motorist who drove past him. The final person to die was 24-year-old James Starling, who was fatally shot in the back as he tried to get away. Four others were wounded this way. He then headed along Highway 52 toward Geneva and continued to shoot from his car, eventually leading police on a 24-mile chase.

Law enforcement officers at one point used the PIT maneuver on the suspect's car, but he shot at them with an assault rifle, wounding Geneva police chief Frankie Lindsey in the arm, and kept going. McLendon reached Reliable Building Products, owned by Ruskin Company, where he had worked in 2003. After engaging in a shootout with police, he committed suicide inside the building. He had much ammunition in his car and appeared to have intentions of killing many more people. A total of six people were injured.

The shooting spree lasted about an hour before McLendon was found dead at 4:17 p.m. He was found to have been armed with "two high powered assault rifles, a Soviet-made SKS and a Bushmaster. He also had at least one .38 caliber pistol, police said. He fired more than 200 rounds, police said at a news conference." A large amount of ammunition was found in his car.