Terrorised residents in a small US town are cancelling their holiday plans and arming themselves after a teenage girl became the fifth suspected victim of a serial killer.
Abby Tyler, 15, died at a local hospital in the eastern state of South Carolina on Saturday morning local time, coroner Dennis Fowler said.
Her death came two days after she was wounded and her father was killed at their family's furniture and appliance shop.
The five shootings have all taken place in Cherokee County, a rural community of 54,000 people set amid peach orchards and farms.
Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigators believe the murders are linked and the search is on for a suspected serial killer.
The killing spree began a week ago on Saturday when the wife of 63-year-old peach farmer Kline Cash found him dead in their home.
A few days later relatives found an 83-year-old mother and her daughter bound and shot to death.
Blanton says all the victims were shot but would not say how the deaths were linked.
"There's no evidence there is a hit list," Blanton said.
"There's no evidence he knows the victims. There's no evidence the victims are connected [to each other]."
Alarmed local residents were cancelling their Independence Day holiday plans and arming themselves, while door-to-door salesmen have been warned to stop knocking on doors.
"We're knee-deep in the investigation," Sheriff Blanton said.
"There's fear and concern here and there should be concern."
Front page
RSS Feed