Mississippi Sniper Kills 1, Dies in Fire

A sniper holed up in an abandoned, burning restaurant sprayed a busy shopping area with gunfire Friday, killing one person and wounding four others before perishing in the flames, police said. They gave no motive for the attack.

More than 100 shots were fired from the shuttered Po’ Folks Restaurant during the hourlong siege that forced motorists to crouch behind their cars and sent shoppers into nearby businesses for refuge.

At least four people were shot, one fatally, police said. The person who was killed wasn’t immediately identified. Several other people suffered cuts from flying glass. Police said the unidentified gunman died in the fire.

Pamela Berry, a police reporter for the Clarion-Ledger newspaper, was in stable condition after undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to the neck. Police said the wound was not life-threatening.

Dan Davis, metro editor for the newspaper, said Berry had heard on her police scanner that there was a hostage situation. “Another one of our reporters had called her on the cellular phone, and she was shot while on the phone,” Davis said.

Another woman, Dorothy Grayson, was treated for a gunshot wound to the foot and released, police said. Two young boys and their mother were treated for superficial wounds and released.