Tennessee man arrested after he allegedly shot dead several family members, including his parents and a 12-year-old boy
A Tennessee man who was arrested for allegedly murdering six family members, including his parents, is thought have killed a seventh person after he stole her car.
According to the Daily Mail, 25-year-old Michael Cummins was taken into custody on Saturday night after the bodies of five people were discovered in two homes in Westmoreland, a town northeast of the state's capital city of Nashville.
Three of the victims were later identified as Cummins' parents David and Clara, and his uncle, Charlie Hosale. A 12-year-old child was also among those dead, with his grandmother, who has been hospitalized, seemingly the only person to survive the rampage. The 25-year-old was armed at the time of his arrest, and initial indications suggest he shot his victims dead.
Officers discovered the first four victims and an injured person at a home at Charles Brown Road between Portland and Westmoreland after responding to a 911 call from Cummins' family member. A short time later, they found another body at a house on Luby Brown Road.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) later confirmed they had found two more bodies the same day, both of which were connected to the homicide investigation against Cummins.
One of these belonged to a female victim who was not related to Cummins and whose car was hijacked on Saturday night while the other was later found by forensic scientists at the house on Charles Brown Road.
The news was confirmed by the TBI in a Twitter post where they wrote, "Our Forensic Scientists, processing the scene on Charles Brown Road, have found a sixth body in the home. This brings the total to seven deaths and one critical injury. Efforts to identify the victims remain ongoing at this time."
Cummins was arrested on Saturday night a mile away from one of his crime scenes after a manhunt lasting several hours. He reportedly drew weapons when officers tracked him down, prompting them to shoot him in response. He was then taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
While the TBI is continuing to search for a possible motive for the shooting spree, WROC-TV reported that the 25-year-old has a lengthy criminal background in Sumner County with signs of escalating violence.
He was first arrested in December 2012 for violation of an order of protection and simple possession of drugs and released from prison about a month later on time served. He was again arrested in 2013, for domestic assault, and sentenced to 150 days in jail, and then arrested three more times in 2017 for charges ranging from theft and evading arrest to robbery, domestic assault, aggravated assault, aggravated arson, and violation of probation for domestic assault.