Missouri man charged with shooting at vehicles, wounding 6

JOPLIN, Mo. -- A southwest Missouri man is charged in two counties after shootings that wounded six people and two dogs in what police believe were random attacks.

Tom S. Mourning II, 26, of Joplin was charged Saturday in Jasper and Newton counties with counts of armed criminal action, first-degree felony assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

He was being held Sunday in lieu of $1 million bond in Jasper County and $300,000 bond in Newton County.

The incident began just after 5 a.m. Saturday when Mourning's father called police to report shots had been fired in the duplex where he and his son lived.

Officers caught up with Mourning about 5:10 a.m. and were preparing to stop him 14 blocks from his home when he pulled up behind an Immanuel Lutheran Church van at an intersection and began shooting, police said.

Thomas S. Mourning II

The van was on its way to St. Louis for a meeting about the church's comfort-dog ministry, the Joplin Globe reported.

The driver of the van, Kenneth Eby, was shot in the lung and was in critical condition Saturday night at a hospital. Joplin police spokesman Capt. Bob Higginbotham said Sunday he would have been notified if Eby's condition had worsened, but it hadn't.

One woman in the van was shot in the arm, a boy suffered a graze wound, and a woman was hit by shrapnel, police said. Two comfort dogs in the van were hit but are expected to survive.

After the shooting, Mourning drove into portions of Joplin in Newton County and stopped at an intersection, where he fired shots at a pickup truck waiting to make a left turn from oncoming traffic, police said.

The driver of the pickup was struck with two bullets and his wife hit by shrapnel, police said. Deborah Pugh initially thought her husband, Donal Pugh, would be released from the hospital Sunday, but doctors found one of his arteries was nearly 100 percent blocked and were putting in a stent that could keep him hospitalized for a few more days, a Freeman Hospital spokeswoman said.

Officers continued to pursue Mourning, who made a U-turn, eventually slowed his vehicle and gave himself up at 5:22 a.m., police said.

No motive for the shootings has been determined, and there seems to be no relation between the suspect and the victims, police said.

"It will always be a form of speculation as to the motive when someone hits random targets," Higginbotham said.

Mourning "has had history" with police, Higginbotham said. A mugshot of Mourning police released Saturday was an older one for a drunken-driving arrest, he said.

A handgun and rifle were recovered Saturday from Mourning's car, police said. Higginbotham said police don't know whether Mourning is licensed to carry or whether the guns were registered to him.

Mourning is being held on $1 million bond in Jasper County, of which $750,000 would have to be in surety and $250,000 would have to be in cash. The charges in Newton County resulted in a $300,000 cash-only bond.

Higginbotham said it didn't appear Mourning had obtained an attorney.