SALISBURY, Md. (AP) – A man accused in a shooting spree that left two dead was denied bail Friday at a hearing during which he muttered and cursed.

Judge R. Scott Davis described 22-year-old Allison Lamont Norman as a threat to the community.

Norman seemed agitated and distracted in court, muttering to himself and uttering a string of profanities as he sat shackled and surrounded by guards.

He also blurted statements including “he shot me,” “who shot me,” “you know who shot you” and “you can’t keep me from being me,” prompting the judge to threaten to muzzle Norman at future hearings.

Norman was arrested after a series of shootings that left two dead and four wounded along the 13 miles from Laurel, Del., to Salisbury, Md. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a handgun when he was caught, police said.

Norman was charged in Maryland with first-degree murder and handgun violations. Other charges, including attempted murder and carjacking, were possible, prosecutors there said. Delaware officials said they expected to file charges including murder and attempted murder.

The killings came a day after Norman skipped a court hearing relating to October gunfire at a shopping center and convenience store in Delmar, Del.

Court records show he faced one felony and three misdemeanor weapons charges, including illegal firearm possession. The records did not indicate precisely what he was accused of doing.

He also has at least one drug-related felony conviction, prosecutors said.

“Norman is known to Delaware law enforcement,” said Davis Ruark, state’s attorney for Maryland’s Wicomico County.

Ruark declined to speculate Friday on Norman’s mental competency. “That’s going to be determined at a later time,” he said.

Authorities were still trying to pinpoint a motive for Thursday’s violence, which started in Laurel, where one man was shot to death and two others were wounded. It continued across the state line in Maryland as the gunman allegedly fired indiscriminately at cars, homes and pets. Three people were shot in Salisbury, Md., including one who died, police said.

The man killed in Laurel was 24-year-old Jamell Weston, who was at an apartment complex. “He was in the wrong place when the shooting started,” said his mother, Iris Weston, 43.

His 18-year-old cousin, Marcus Cannon, was shot in the arm.

The suspect then went to a Laurel shopping center, shooting a 45-year-old man in the stomach and leg, authorities said. The victim, who was in stable condition, may have been trying to hitch a ride with Norman, unaware that he had just shot two men and was fleeing in a stolen car, authorities said.

“Quite a morning for a little rural town,” Laurel mayor John Shwed said.

After leaving Laurel, Norman allegedly drove through Delmar, where more shots were fired. No one was hit, but one bullet lodged in a home near a sleeping child, authorities said.

In Salisbury, the gunman opened fire on people, dogs, cars and homes in a run-down neighborhood near two elementary schools, killing Davondale M. Peters, 28, and wounding two women.

Witnesses told police may have carjacked Peters before shooting him. They told police they saw the men arguing before Norman got out of the vehicle and shot Peters, who died at the scene.

Carla D. Green, 33, was in intensive care Friday after being shot in the torso, officials said. Marsha L. Henderson was released from a hospital after being treated for a minor gunshot wound.

Also, an elderly woman with a heart condition was taken to a hospital as a precaution after the gunman broke into her home and “terrorized” her and her husband, authorities said.

“It appears to be random,” Wicomico County Sheriff Hunter Nelms said.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Norman after a brief foot chase. He did not offer any significant resistance and may have run out of bullets, authorities said.

—

Associated Press writer Sarah Brumfield contributed to this report.

AP-ES-04-08-05 1259EDT

Copy the Story Link