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7 people slain in 2 rural Tennessee homes; suspect is in custody

Posted at 6:31 PM, Apr 28, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-28 18:31:53-04

SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. — Seven people were found dead in two homes in Sumner County, Tennessee, in what investigators are calling “related homicides.”

A suspect, Michael Cummins, is in custody after being shot by police, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.

The bodies of four people and one injured person were found by authorities after a 911 call Saturday to a house about an hour northeast of Nashville, near the Kentucky state line.

A fifth person was found slain in another home not far away, the TBI said.

On Sunday, authorities announced they had found the bodies of two more victims in the same home as the first four were discovered, bringing the total number of dead to seven.

Authorities did not say how they were killed or whether or how the victims were related to each other.

Cummins, 25, was identified as a suspect and was found by a search plane in a creek bed about a mile from the first home.

More than a dozen officers from Sumner County’s joint SWAT team found Cummins in the creek, the TBI said.

“The situation escalated, for reasons under investigation, and resulted in at least one officer firing his service weapon, striking Cummins,” the TBI said. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, and no officers were hurt.

Authorities were still trying to identify the victims and notify family members Sunday afternoon.

The suspect’s motive and relationship to the victims is still under investigation, the TBI said.