A total of seven people were shot earlier today in Gainesville, Florida, two of whom have since died.

Five people were wounded in a series of shootings that began around 4pm, and police believe that the person responsible for the incidents is one of the two people who died. According to the Alachua County sheriff’s department, 24-year-old Clifford Miller Jr., believed to be the gunman, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 2306 S.E. 46th Terrace in Gainesville. Gainesville Police Department Captain Ed Book confirmed to press that Miller is believed to have carried out the shootings alone, and that they don’t believe anyone is “running around” endangering Gainesville residents.

A few of those injured in the shootings were mobile, including a man who suffered from a broken upper arm but was “OK” and even a victim who was shot in the face:

Gainesville Fire Rescue Chief Richard Saulsberry said one of the victims, a man, was able to walk himself to Fire Station No. 1, at 427 South Main St., for treatment after being shot in the face. The victim was transported to Shands at UF.

Family members were gathering at Shands.

Police have described the shootings as “random.”

2 dead, 5 wounded in Gainesville shooting is a post from: The Inquisitr

Brad Cooper’s Zippo lighter may be the only reason he’s still alive. According to several reports, a burglar shot at Cooper and his lighter stopped the bullet, saving his life.

According to Q13FOX the burglar was in Cooper’s back yard when he yelled at Cooper to stop approaching him, when Cooper continued towards the man he was shot in the leg but continued towards the burglar until a gun was pushed against his head. According to the report, the Zippo lighter in his pocket stopped the bullet from puncturing his femoral artery which more than likely would have killed him.

The burglar eventually took off without the TV he was trying to steal, a stupid decision as police were able to lift DNA from the TV, thereby tying him to the crime.

Man’s Zippo Lighter Saves His Life is a post from: The Inquisitr

Audrey (also reported as Carrie and Sherrie) Johnson, 51, wife of ex-NBA player World B. Free, was struck and killed by a stray bullet in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn last night.

The shooting occurred at about 9:30pm at Clifton Place and Franklin Avenue in Bed-Stuy, after an altercation on the street. Johnson reportedly stepped outside to check on the boyfriend of her niece. Johnson’s niece’s boyfriend, 25-year-old Laqwan Williams, was being assaulted on the street by one of more of them men thought to be responsible for the shooting when Johnson stepped in. Johnson was shot once in the head and died at the scene, and her 14-year-old nephew was shot in the leg and transported to a local hospital.

Williams is being questioned as to the reason for the altercation, but no arrests have been made in the killing. NBA star World B. Free played for a number of teams in the 1970s.

Wife of ex-NBA star shot to death on Brooklyn street is a post from: The Inquisitr

Amanda Ross, 29, was found dead just after 6:30 this morning in Lexington, KY outside her home at the Opera House Square Town Homes.

Former boyfriend Steve Nunn has been arrested in connection with the crime. He has not been charged with her murder, but has been charged with violating a protective order. Also suffering from gunshot wounds, Nunn was found around 10am in the cemetery in which is parents are buried. (Nunn’s father was former Kentucky governor Louie B. Nunn.) Police declined to comment on Nunn’s injuries but say he is in “fair condition.”

After being  put on administrative leave in February after allegations of abuse involving Ross surfaced, Nunn resigned from his post in March as deputy director for the Health and Family Services Cabinet. He ran unsuccessfully for state governor in 2003. He went on to lose his seat in the house in 2006, after serving 15 years.

[Source: ABC]

KY Rep. Steve Nunn arrested after girlfriend Amanda Ross found dead is a post from: The Inquisitr

An as of yet unnamed (presumably pending familial notification) anti-abortion activist has been gunned down outside a high school in Owasso, Michigan. (UPDATE: The victim has been identified as Jim Poullion of Owasso.)

Classes at the school, about 20 miles west of Flint, had already begun when the 7:30 am shooting occurred. A suspect has been taken into custody, seized at home at 8:15 am. Police report that the suspect is also being investigated in connection with another homicide.

While the school was immediately put on lockdown, students are now being permitted to leave with a parental escort. Although the victim has not been named, sources have told press that he or she is “well known” in the area.

[Source: MLive]

Anti-abortion activist Jim Poullion gunned down in front of Owasso school is a post from: The Inquisitr