Alabama Gunman's Note Gives Reason for Killing Spree

DOTHAN, Ala. – The man blamed for the mass killing spree in south Alabama last month left a note that provides new information on the slayings.

The Dothan Eagle reported Wednesday that 28-year-old Michael McLendon wrote that he fatally shot his mother while she slept because she was sick, perhaps with lung cancer. He wrote that he killed her dogs, too, because she wanted to die with the animals.

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McLendon said he had planned the shootings for later but went ahead with the spree because his mother, Lisa McLendon, was suspended from her job.

McLendon wrote that his mother had suffered enough, and so had he. He added: "Some of the people who made us suffer will pay."

Authorities say McLendon fatally shot 10 people before killing himself on March 10.