By JAY REEVES
Associated Press
BROOKWOOD, Ala. (AP) -- An assistant police chief in Alabama says the suspect in a mass shooting at a night club had been fired from his job after a fistfight with a co-worker.
Brookwood Assistant Police Chief Jimmy Sellers says that Nathan Van Wilkins told police in April he was angry about his firing and that he was pressing assault charges against the other man.
It's not clear what role the firing from Capstone Oilfield may have played in the shootings early Tuesday that wounded 17.
Sellers says he's not aware of any connection between the shooting victims and the company. But Sellers had many stresses in his life that include a divorce and a bankruptcy filing.
Police have charged the 44-year-old Wilkins with 18 counts of attempted murder. Wilkins is also suspected of setting three fires to equipment or property owned by Capstone.
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By JAY REEVES and JEFF MARTIN
Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Police say the gunman who opened fire on a crowded bar is a 44-year-old Alabama man.
Tuscaloosa police say Nathan Van Wilkins turned himself in Tuesday, several hours after the shooting at a bar near the University of Alabama campus. Authorities say 17 people were injured in the shooting.
Tuscaloosa police say Wilkins has been charged with one count of attempted murder but they expected to add 16 more counts of the same charge.
Wilkins is being held on $100,000 bond, but police say it will be increased to $1.7 million once all the counts are added.
Police believe the rampage was connected to a shooting at a home about 45 minutes earlier. They are investigating whether both evolved from a dispute between rival motorcycle gangs.
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By JAY REEVES and JEFF MARTIN
Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -- Witnesses inside a crowded Alabama bar describe a bloody and chaotic scene as a gunman outside opened fire, injuring 17 people.
Elizabeth Walters was inside the Copper Top bar in Tuscaloosa when the shooting started early Tuesday. She said glass and metal fragments were flying everywhere as people ran and
crawled to get away.
Police say the gunman fired through a window, then shot people as they ran outside. Police were searching for the shooter.
Hospital spokesman Brad Fisher says most of the injured were hit by bullet fragments or bits of masonry.
He said the two most seriously hurt were in the Intensive Care Unit, one in critical condition and the other in serious condition.
Three people were hospitalized in fair condition and 12 more were treated and released.