Police arrest a suspect in the Pelham, Alabama, office shootings, but are withholding his name

August 5, 1999
Web posted at: 6:39 p.m. EDT (2239 GMT)

PELHAM, Alabama (CNN) -- Three people were shot dead Thursday at two business offices in Pelham, Alabama, about 15 miles south of Birmingham, and a suspect was arrested after a police chase.

Authorities have not named the 34-year-old suspect, but they describe him as a resident of Billingsley, Alabama, and an employee at one of the firms -- Ferguson Enterprises.

Two people were shot dead at that location about 7 a.m. CDT Another shooting, which left a third person dead, occurred minutes later at another company, Post Airgas, where the suspect once worked.

There was no immediate word on a motive for the shootings.

The victims were identified as Lee Holbrooks, 32, of Pelham and Christopher Yancy, 28, of Alabaster, Alabama, both employees of Ferguson, and Terry Jarvis, 39, of Montevallo, Alabama, an employee of Post Airgas.

The suspect escaped in his car and was apprehended in nearby Chilton County after being pulled over by police on Interstate 65, authorities said.

There was a "brief scuffle," according to Pelham Police Chief Allan Wade, who said a handgun was found in the man's car.

Police said the suspect apparently was headed home when captured. He was moved to the Shelby County Jail in Columbiana later Thursday.

Authorities said they intended to bring a charge of capital murder against the man.

The Alabama shootings occurred one week after an office complex massacre in neighboring Georgia.

Stock market day trader Mark Barton opened fire in two Atlanta brokerage firms, killing nine people. Barton, who had earlier bludgeoned his wife and two young children to death, killed himself in his van in an Atlanta suburb as police closed in on him.

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