Jilted man kills two in Vermont rampage

A man shot dead two people and wounded two others, hours after breaking up with his girlfriend, in a terrifying rampage which included the primary school at which she taught.

The gunman later shot himself in the head, police in Essex, Vermont, said.

Investigators said they had been searching for Christopher Williams, 26, since early yesterday when the girlfriend called police to report he had taken her car after their break-up.

Police said Williams killed Andrea Lambesis’ 57-year-old mother, Linda, at her home, then headed to the nearby Essex Elementary School, where her daughter was a teacher.

When he did not find his girlfriend, he shot dead teacher Mary Shanks, 56, Police Chief David Demag said. He also wounded another person at the school.

Some 39 staff were in the building preparing for the start of the school year when the gunman arrived, Demag said.

Williams then went to a condominium complex, where he shot an acquaintance, Chad Johansen, 26, before turning the gun on himself.

Demag said Williams shot himself twice in the head, but was still able to talk to police when they arrived.

The three injured people, including Williams, were taken to hospital. All were said to be in fair or good condition early today.

Condominium resident Jillian Schultz, 22, said she was in the garden playing with her 13-month-old son and the two-year-old son of a neighbour she knew only as “Chad” when the gunman – dishevelled and sweating – ran past her, asking: “Where’s Chad? Where’s Chad?”

Moments later, she heard four gunshots and saw bullets rip through bushes 10 feet away.

“I gathered the kids and the neighbour’s kid and I got out of there,” Schultz said.

Then she saw her neighbour come toward the building, bleeding from the back and yelling to her to call police.

The gunman was apprehended on a lawn between the condominiums and a neighbouring greenhouse business, said witness Peter Bearor, who was arriving home from work at the time.

Dozens of police from around Chittenden County, including tactical units armed with automatic weapons, converged on the school. One TV report showed people running from the building, ducking their heads.

People from the school were taken to a nearby supermarket.