Fla. man kills father, self in shooting spree

A woman grieved Monday at one of several scenes of a 13-minute shooting spree in Gainesville, Fla. (Rob C. Witzel/The Gainesville Sun via Associated Press)

Associated Press / October 6, 2010

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A gunman with a history of mental illness shot his father to death, then drove through his neighborhood on a 13-minute, 3-mile shooting spree that wounded five others before he killed himself, police said yesterday.

Clifford Miller Jr., 24, killed his 52-year-old father, Clifford Miller Sr., before he went on his rampage and fired multiple rounds from a .38-caliber revolver at each spot, Corporal Tscharna Senn of the Gainesville police said.

“He did have a relationship with the remaining victims,’’ she said, identifying them as men. “Right now, we do not have a motive.’’

The younger Miller shot himself in his red pickup. The gun was found with him.

Miller, who previously worked as a dishwasher at a Mexican restaurant in Gainesville, had a lengthy criminal history, court records showed. When Miller was 19, he was found guilty of cocaine possession and a probation violation. When he was about to return to court, he wrote the judge a letter:

“I have been working for a year,’’ he wrote in 2006. “I beg of you to drop the case so I can finish being successful in life.’’

Every year since, Miller was charged with either a traffic offense or other crimes.

It was unclear what touched off Monday’s shooting spree.