Eight People Shot Dead In Missouri Gun Attacks

Eight people have been shot dead in a gun spree in a small community in the US state of Missouri.

Those killed in the attack late on Thursday in Tyrone include the alleged shooter, 36-year-old Joseph Jesse Aldridge.

He had a self-inflicted shot wound from a handgun, said Texas County Sheriff's Sgt Jeff Kinder.

"A motive for the killing has yet to be determined," he added.

Police found two people dead after responding to an emergency call from a girl at a home in Tyrone.

Five more victims were discovered killed and one wounded in three other homes in the community.

The survivor's condition in hospital was not disclosed.

The gunman's mother, Alice Aldridge, 74, was found dead, apparently from natural causes.

Texas County Coroner Tom Whittaker told the St Louis Post-Dispatch the gunman may have gone berserk after finding his ailing mother had passed away.

"We're speculating that he came home and found her deceased and then, for whatever reason, went on a rampage and started killing people," he told the newspaper.

Police have named four other victims, two married couples, who were cousins of the gunman.

They were Garold Dee Aldridge, 52, and Julie Ann Aldridge, 47, and Harold Wayne Aldridge, 50, and Janell Arlisa Aldridge, 40.

The names of the three other victims have not been released.

The alleged gunman was found dead in a pickup truck in Shannon County.

Sheriff James Sigman of Texas County said Aldridge had had a "minor criminal history".

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said in a statement it was "a horrific tragedy".

The shooting has stunned the scenic Bible Belt town which lies next to rivers and woods.