NY Shooting Suspect Dead in Police Shootout

Kurt Myers had been holed up in abandoned building, surrounded
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 14, 2013 2:14 AM CDT
Updated Mar 14, 2013 7:42 AM CDT
Police Surround New York Shooting Suspect: Report
This undated photo provided by the New York State Police shows Kurt R. Myers.   (AP Photo/New York State Police)

Kurt Myers, the suspect in an upstate New York shooting spree, has been killed in a shootout with police, the AP reports. Cops surrounded Myers, 64, in an abandoned building yesterday afternoon, and had traded fire with him. This morning, police entered the building and Myers shot a police dog. Police returned fire, killing him. CNN adds that cops still have no motive; witnesses say Myers entered a barbershop yesterday and said, "Do you remember me?" before opening fire. He is also thought to have blown up his own home.

"This is truly an inexplicable situation; there was no apparent, rational motive to the best of our knowledge," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier; he was on the scene in Herkimer County. Meanwhile, the names of the four people killed in the shooting spree have emerged: Harry Montgomery, 68, and Michael Rancier, 57, were reportedly killed in the barbershop after Myers spoke with people there; and worker Thomas Stefka and corrections department worker Michael Renshaw were killed at an auto shop. Myers was a former customer at the barbershop but hadn't been there in years, according to the sister of the owner, who was wounded. Just before shooting, "he says, 'Hi John, do you remember me?' and my brother said, 'Yes, Kurt, how are you?'" (More Herkimer County, NY stories.)

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