Shooting spree leaves two dead

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SALISBURY, Md. -- A Delaware man wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a handgun yesterday went on a two-state shooting spree in which he killed two persons and wounded four, police said.

Police arrested Allison Lamont Norman, 22, of Seaford, Del., about 45 minutes after the first shooting was reported, but would not say last night what triggered the deadly, 16-mile rampage.

"We have a possible motive, but I cannot release it at this time," said Cpl. Jeff Oldham of the Delaware State Police. Police said Mr. Norman acted alone but declined to say whether he had a relationship with any of the victims.

Mr. Norman was due in Wicomico County Circuit Court on Wednesday for a hearing on four firearms charges, but had failed to appear, said Mark Bowen, clerk of the court. Mr. Bowen said the court issued a bench warrant for Mr. Norman. Those charges stemmed from an Oct. 16 incident in Delmar, according to court papers.

Wicomico County Sheriff R. Hunter Nelms described the incident as a gunfight involving Mr. Norman and another man.

Mr. Norman has been charged with first-degree murder and offenses including the use of a handgun during the commission of a felony. Police say other charges, including attempted murder and carjacking, are pending.

Mr. Norman fired his first shots in Seaford, Del., at about 8:15 a.m., then headed south on Route 13 to the Carvel Gardens apartment complex in Laurel, Del., where he shot two men -- killing one and hitting the second in the arm, police said. The survivor was taken to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford with an injury that was not life-threatening.

Iris Weston, 43, said her son, Jamell Weston, 24, was killed at the apartment complex, and his cousin, Marcus Cannon, was wounded. She said police told her that a man, whom she called a "big drug dealer," shot her son while he was coming back from a bus stop.

"He got shot in the face," Mrs. Weston said. "He was in the wrong place when the shooting started." She said police told her that the suspect had been trying to shoot into an apartment where his girlfriend lived.

"It was just poom, poom, poom, poom, you know," said Matilda Smith, 47, a resident at the apartments. "It just scared me so bad."