Serial Killer Shot and Killed by Police in South Carolina

Patrick Burris, 41, was a career criminal with a rap sheet nearly 25 pages long. He was released on parole only 2 months ago and is believed to have gone on a killing spree in and around Gaffney, South Carolina, which claimed the lives of five people. Police are still searching for other possible Burris victims as they try to piece together exactly why this man went on a killing rampage.

Police were called to investigate a burglary in Gastonia, North Carolina yesterday and eventually confronted Burris, who was with at least two other people at the time of his death. Burris was armed and apparently made some sort of threatening advance on police before they opened fire and killed him. The two people with Burris were not identified by police and it is unclear at this point whether they will be charged with a crime or whether they had any knowledge of Burris' identity or his recent murders.

Citizens of Gaffney and nearby towns were relieved to hear of Burris' death but many were still shaken by the days of tension and uncertainty as a serial killer was moving freely among them.

"The Gaffney killings happened in a 10-mile area over six days. Peach farmer Kline Cash, 63, was killed June 27 and 83-year-old Hazel Linder and her daughter, 50-year-old Gena Linder Parker, were found bound and shot in the older woman's home four days later. The next day, Stephen Tyler and his 15-year-old daughter Abby were found shot in their family's furniture store."