3 killed in shooting incidents in US

Houston, Aug 27: Three persons, including a policeman, were killed today in separate shooting incidents in the US, a day after a disgruntled gunman killed two TV journalists, highlighting the growing cases of gun-related violence in the country.

In the first incident, a gunman killed two persons in Sunset suburb in southeastern US state of Louisiana. The assailant, identified as Harrison Lee Wiley Jr, drove his car to a convenience store in Sunset and barricaded himself inside, St Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said.

Sunset police officer Henry Wilson, 51, the first responder, was shot and killed at the scene of a domestic disturbance call where authorities found three women with serious stab wounds, Guidroz said.

One of the injured women, Shameka Johnson, 40, died at hospital. Her sister Surlay Johnson, 34, was in critical condition. Both are sisters of Shaterral Johnson, interim mayor of Grand Couteau, a town just to the northeast of Sunset.

Officers threw tear gas shells and stormed the store when the man refused to leave. The gunmen was later overpowered by police authorities and taken in custody, Guidroz said. Indian-American Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal took to Twitter to react to the shooting incident and said, "Our thoughts & prayers are w/ the families of Sunset Police Officer Henry Nelson & the other victims as they endure this senseless tragedy."

In another incident, one person was killed in a shooting at a school parking in southwest Houston in Texas. School officials said the shooting has not affected campus operations. Meanwhile, one person was taken into custody after a separate shooting incident on the campus of Texasn Southern University.

In a shocking shooting incident in Virginia state yesterday, a woman TV reporter and a cameraman were killed on live television when a "disgruntled" ex-employee of the TV station opened fire, before succumbing to his injuries from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. President Barack Obama expressed concern over the gun culture in the US, saying, the number of people who die from gun-related incidents around this country "dwarfs" any deaths that happen through terrorism.

The President also expressed his sorrow over such incidents and described them as "heartbreaking." "It breaks my heart every time you read or hear about these kids of incidents," Obama told a local TV station from Philadelphia in an interview.

"What we know is that the number of people who die from gun-related incidents around this country dwarfs any deaths that happen through terrorism," he said.

PTI