Man Who Killed 5 Saved Wounded Girl: Police

Officials unsure why Rick Smith took 6-year-old to neighboring home
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 25, 2013 6:15 AM CDT
Updated Apr 25, 2013 7:53 AM CDT
Man Who Killed 5 Saved Wounded Girl: Police
Police officials investigate the scene at a house in Manchester, Ill., where five people were found slain in the tiny southwestern Illinois town early yesterday.   (AP Photo/The State Journal-Register, Ted Schurter)

The man who police say killed five people in Manchester, Ill., yesterday turns out to have been the one who helped save the 6-year-old girl he shot, reports the Chicago Tribune. Officials don't know why Rick Odell Smith carried the bloodied girl to a neighbor's house after his shooting spree, but he reportedly told the neighbor to take her to a hospital. She had been shot several times and is now in critical condition with facial injuries. "It's devastating, simply devastating," says Manchester Mayor Ron Drake—who happens to be Smith's uncle. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Drake hasn't talked to Smith in two years, and notes the impact the murders are having on this tiny town, home to just 300 people—and not a single stoplight. (More Illinois stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X