Suspect in workplace shooting that killed 2 found dead from self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say

The suspect in an overnight shooting that killed two employees at a Mueller Co. facility in Alabama was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said Tuesday.

Two other employees were injured in the shooting.

The suspect, identified as Andreas Deon Horton, 34, was also an employee of Mueller Co., said Albertville Police Chief Jamie Smith. Smith said that shortly after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, Horton began firing “an unknown amount of rounds” from a handgun at fellow employees.

Smith said there were victims “in two or three locations.”

He said the majority of the shooting took place inside the plant during the middle of a shift.

“It’s tough. No bones about it. Loss of life anytime is terrible whether it’s at the hands of a gunman, natural causes, car accident, name it,” said Smith.

The police chief said Michael Lee Dobbins and David Lee Horton were fatally wounded.

Casey Sampson and Isaac Byrd were injured. They were taken to Marshall Medical Center South in Boaz before being airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Smith said that while the suspect and one of the victims share a last name, they are not to his knowledge related.

After the shooting, Horton left the scene in a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee, Smith said.

Police in Guntersville, about 10 miles from Albertville, spotted Horton’s vehicle and discovered Horton deceased from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Smith said. “Multiple weapons” were recovered from inside the vehicle. he said.

Smith said officers are still processing the crime scene at Mueller and working to understand what “sparked or caused the shooting.”

Albertville is in north Alabama, about 50 miles southeast of Huntsville.

‘Our hearts are breaking’

Mueller released a statement expressing both the company’s shock and sadness and its commitment to supporting the employees and families of those impacted by the shooting.

Smith said the plant will likely be closed for a few days while the investigation by both state and federal agencies continues.

In a statement to CNN, Albertville Mayor Tracy Honea called the shooting a “senseless tragedy.”

“Our hearts are breaking today after the senseless tragedy that has taken place at Mueller Company in Albertville. Mueller has been an integral part of the lifeblood and workforce of this city for just shy of 50 years,” Honea said.

Mueller, which distributes water and natural gas products, has 11 facilities throughout the United States and Canada, according to its website.