Love life taunts behind killing rampage

The rampage by a gunman who killed 10 people in rural Alabama could have been sparked by taunts about his failed love life.

Investigators today will talk to former workmates who said Michael McLendon, 28, had been teased about a recent split with his girlfriend.

They also believe he "snapped" over his financial situation as he was out of work.

Police investigating the worst mass shooting in the state's history heard McLendon was often the target of ridicule at the sausage factory where he worked.

He was known as "dough boy" because he weighed more than 15stone. The names of colleagues who had mocked him were on a "hit list" found at the home he shared with his mother.

McLendon's victims included four relatives, his mother, 52, the 18-month-old baby and wife of a deputy sheriff, and three bystanders.

He then shot himself after he was cornered by police.