YUMA, Arizona, June 3 (AP): A 73-year-old man’s shooting rampage in towns near the Arizona border left six people dead Thursday, including the suspect and the attorney who represented his ex-wife in their divorce. Police said Carey Hal Dyess also wounded one person in the shootings around Yuma, a city of about 91,000, before he was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound nearly six hours after the first shots were fired.
The lawyer was killed while packing up his office on his last day of work. “This is not a random act,” Police Chief Jerry Geier said. “These victims were targeted.” Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogden said the first shooting was reported shortly after 5 a.m. in Wellton, about 25 miles east of Yuma. The woman was in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital. He said Dyess then fatally shot four people around town before driving to Yuma and killing prominent attorney Jerrold Shelley at about 9:20 a.m. The bodies in Wellton were found between 8:20 and 9:45 a.m.
Police believe Dyess drove back toward Wellton, pulled over and fatally shot himself. His body was found at 10:47 a.m. inside a vehicle. Neither police nor the sheriff would identify the other four dead. Shelley was killed in his downtown law office. Shelley represented Dyess’ ex-wife in their 2006 divorce, which was Dyess’ fifth.
Vida Florez, a Yuma attorney who knew Shelley, said she learned of the shooting after leaving court. She said she heard from a witness who spoke to the police about what happened inside the office. “They said the shooter came in and told the secretary to ‘Get out of here,’” Florez said. “She did, and he shot Jerry Shelley and he left.”
The lawyer was killed while packing up his office on his last day of work. “This is not a random act,” Police Chief Jerry Geier said. “These victims were targeted.” Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogden said the first shooting was reported shortly after 5 a.m. in Wellton, about 25 miles east of Yuma. The woman was in critical condition at a Phoenix hospital. He said Dyess then fatally shot four people around town before driving to Yuma and killing prominent attorney Jerrold Shelley at about 9:20 a.m. The bodies in Wellton were found between 8:20 and 9:45 a.m.
Police believe Dyess drove back toward Wellton, pulled over and fatally shot himself. His body was found at 10:47 a.m. inside a vehicle. Neither police nor the sheriff would identify the other four dead. Shelley was killed in his downtown law office. Shelley represented Dyess’ ex-wife in their 2006 divorce, which was Dyess’ fifth.
Vida Florez, a Yuma attorney who knew Shelley, said she learned of the shooting after leaving court. She said she heard from a witness who spoke to the police about what happened inside the office. “They said the shooter came in and told the secretary to ‘Get out of here,’” Florez said. “She did, and he shot Jerry Shelley and he left.”
