Six Killed in Arizona Shooting Spree

UPDATED Friday at 9:20 a.m.: Police are still piecing together details from a Thursday shooting spree in Yuma, Arizona, that left six people dead, including the gunman.

The latest news reports suggest that 73-year-old Carey H. Dyess, angry over a contentious divorce, killed his former wife, her divorce lawyer and three others before turning the gun on himself. Dyess also shot a seventh person, believed to be a friend of his ex-wife, but that person survived the attack.

The lawyer, 62-year-old Jerrold Shelley, was killed while packing up his office on his last day of work, the Associated Press reports.

The New York Times reports that Dyess was married in 2002, but that the mobile home he shared with his wife was transfered to her sole ownership in 2007 because of "dissolution of marriage." Public records also show that while the two were married an order of protection had been issued against Dyess. The AP, meanwhile, notes that Dyess had been previously married and divorced four times before, in Washington state.

UPDATED Thursday at 5:07 p.m.: Police have identified the shooter as a 73-year-old local man, although there are still conflicting reports over exactly how many people he shot and killed before taking his own life.

The Yuma Sun reports that the gunman, Carey Hal Dyess, killed four people before turning his gun on himself. Reuters, meanwhile, says that there were five killed before Dyess shot himself as police moved in.

Meanwhile, speculation has begun over Dyess's potential motivation. Yuma Mayor Alan Krieger told Reuters that local authorities believe that the Dyess was upset over his divorce, and that some of the victims were his friends and relatives.

Police say the shootings took place in separate locations over about two and a half hours, beginning shortly before 9 a.m. and continuing until 11:30 a.m. local time.

Original Post at 4:05 p.m.: At least five people are dead after a series of shootings in and around Yuma, Arizona, according to early reports from the Yuma Sun.

The newspaper reports that four of the five fatal shootings took place outside the city limits, and that the fifth occurred within Yuma, a city of roughly 90,000. A sixth victim was injured and airlifted to a Phoenix-area hospital.

Local police say that the shootings are connected, but aren’t saying whether they believe the suspect is alive or dead. However, the Sun reports that traffic on the police scanner suggests that the person believed to have been responsible for the shooting spree later committed suicide. It is not clear if the suspect was included in the death toll.

A police spokesperson would not confirm the identity of any of the victims, but the paper reports that lawyers in downtown Yuma say that an attorney, Jerrold Shelley, was one of the people who was shot and killed.

The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office responded to the first scene this morning, where they found the body of a woman in a front yard. Early police scanner reports said the woman may have been shot. Reports of two more shootings came next, followed by a report of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Sun.

The local courthouse and schools were locked down temporarily but are now open. Further details about the events remain unclear.