Was the Gaffney serial killer shot and killed in Gastonia, NC?
A suspected serial killer blamed for the deaths of five people in South Carolina was shot dead in a gunfight with police investigating an attempted burglary, authorities said. Patrick Burris, a 41-year-old career criminal, was killed in Gastonia, North Carolina, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of where the murders took place, said Bill Blanton, sheriff in Cherokee County, in a televised news conference late yesterday. Burris was killed when three officers in Gastonia went to investigate a possible burglary. They spoke to Burris, who pulled a gun and shot and wounded one of the officers when they tried to arrest him for a parole violation, authorities said. “Through forensics, we were able to prove today that the weapon he shot the officer with was the same weapon all five of our victims were shot with,” said Blanton. Sources: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?
Patrick Burris identified as Gaffney serial killer The Associated Press Published: Monday, July 6, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, July 6, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. GAFFNEY — Patrick Tracy Burris, the serial killer who terrorized a South Carolina community by shooting five people to death before police killed him Monday was a career criminal paroled just two months ago, authorities said. Burris, 41, was shot to death by officers investigating a burglary complaint at a home in Gastonia, N.C., 30 miles from where the killing spree started June 27. Bullets in his gun matched those that killed residents in and around Gaffney over six days last week, said State Law Enforcement Division Chief Reggie Lloyd. Investigators did not have an address for Burris. While evidence left no doubt he was the killer, they still had no idea why he did it. “He was unpredictable. He was scary. He was weird,” said SLED Deputy Director Neil Dolan. Burris had a long rap sheet filled with charges such as larceny
GAFFNEY — Authorities have identified a man killed by North Carolina police as the killer who shot five people to death in Cherokee County. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect Monday night as 41-year-old Patrick Tracy Burris. They said he was a felon with a lengthy record who was paroled in April after seven years in prison. Authorities did not immediately say where Burris was from. But they did say bullets in the gun found on Burris after he was killed by police near Gastonia, N.C., matched those used to kill residents in and around Gaffney some 40 miles away. Sources: http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/1455801.
