Woman: Ohio killer of 7 was in estate dispute (AP)

By KEVIN BEGOS and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Kevin Begos And Andrew Welsh-huggins, Associated Press – 1?hr?1?min?ago

COPLEY, Ohio – Police identified the man responsible for shooting and killing seven people in a terrifying rampage over the weekend near Akron, as a woman who knew him said Monday that he was an unpleasant, disliked person who was involved in an estate dispute.

Michael Hance, 51, died in a shootout with police in Copley after the Sunday spree that included an 11-year-old among the victims.

Robin Hancock, a caregiver for a couple slain in the rampage, went to the police station in Copley on Monday to hear updates on the killings and the identification of Hance as the gunman.

"He was quiet and strange," said Hancock, 53, of Akron.

One shooting victim who survived was Becky Dieter, Hance's girlfriend of more than two decades, she said. Hance had become embroiled in a dispute over the will of Dieter's late parents, and a couple next door who were longtime friends with Dieter's parents got involved, Hancock said.

That couple, 67-year-old Russ Johnson and his 64-year-old wife, Gerdie, were among the seven people police say Hance shot and killed. Hance's confrontational behavior had led Hancock to leave her job taking care of the couple, she said.

Police combed three homes and searched outside a fourth in a wooded residential area of Copley, collecting evidence as they tried to piece together what happened during the shootings that shook the quiet neighborhood.

Authorities were withholding the names and ages of those involved until officers could tell victims' family members, some of whom were out of state, Copley police Sgt. Eric Goodwin said. Autopsies began Monday.

Hance shot his girlfriend in one home, ran next door, shot her brother and gunned down four neighbors, police say. He then chased four people — two through backyards — shooting one of them before bursting into a home where two others had sought refuge.

Police said he shot an eighth person there and left, only to get into a gunfight outside with a police officer and a citizen who had been a police officer.

Neighbors said that the dead included an 11-year-old boy and that at least three victims were from one family.

The Akron Beacon Journal reported that Copley-Fairlawn School Superintendent Brian Poe said he was told by a township trustee that two Copley High School students were killed. Poe said the trustee told him the 11-year-old was not a Copley student.

Gilbert Elie, who has lived in the neighborhood for 11 years, heard the gunshots and cries for help as he got ready for church. In an account that differed slightly from the police version, Elie said he went to a house across the street and found Gerdie Johnson lying in the driveway, her husband shot near the garage, and their granddaughter and another woman shot in the front seat of a vehicle, the windows apparently blown out by gunfire.

A third woman came out of the house next door and tried to talk to Elie, he said, but their brief exchange ended abruptly when a man followed her out of the house and shot her, sending the 76-year-old Elie running for safety behind a truck.

"She was talking to me, and he come up behind her and shot her, so I figured, maybe I'm next," he told The Associated Press.

He hid until he could see the gunman was gone, then returned home. Police arrived, and Elie said he heard a second round of shots coming from behind the houses and assumed officers had killed the gunman.

Elie said the ordeal has left residents of their well-kept neighborhood shaken and full of questions about the gunman's motive. Elie described him as generally unfriendly, a rarity on the street, and said he often worked on his car outside his house but never waved at anyone.

Some of the victims were from out of state, Copley police Sgt. Eric Goodwin said.

Brian and Diane Cross said they were riding on a motorcycle Sunday morning when they heard a loud bang and saw a man with a gun chasing another man. Brian Cross, 53, said that they drove a half-mile to a service station to call 911, but that "Copley police was already on it, and they were flying by us."

Around sunset, about 200 people assembled at a park for a candlelight vigil for the shooting victims in their town and crime victims elsewhere. Some residents said they set up a memorial fund.

Some saw a double rainbow, including Kelly Kerr Gill, who was one of more than 100 people who posted condolences on a Facebook page set up for a family that lost several members. "Your double rainbow sent from heaven did not go unnoticed ... was truly a sign from God that those taken are ok," she wrote.

The Rev. Jeff Bogue of the Grace Church of Greater Akron prayed with those gathered about faith in the wake of violence.

"This is troubling, Lord, why such evil would come to our little township," he said.

Copley Township is west of Akron and about 40 miles south of Cleveland.

___

Andrew Welsh-Huggins, who reported from Columbus, can be reached at http://twitter.com/awhcolumbus.

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Norway killer tells judge "two more cells" exist (Reuters)

By Johan Ahlander and Aasa Christine Stoltz Johan Ahlander And Aasa Christine Stoltz – Mon?Jul?25, 12:15?pm?ET

OSLO (Reuters) – Anders Behring Breivik told a Norwegian judge on Monday his bombing and shooting rampage that killed scores aimed to save Europe from a Muslim takeover, and said that "two more cells" existed in his organization.

Breivik's remarks at the closed-door custody hearing were relayed by the judge, Kim Heger, at a news conference.

The killer has previously said he acted alone and police had earlier said they were trying to confirm this.

But after Breivik's claim about other cells, police attorney Christian Hatlo said "we cannot completely rule out" the possibility that others were involved in Friday's attacks.

Police revised the death toll downwards to 76 from 93, saying eight people were now known to have died in the bomb blast in central Oslo, and 68 on the island of Utoeya.

It was not clear whether Breivik is in fact part of an organization, although he has written about a revival of the Knights Templar, a medieval order of crusading monks.

After the hearing, Heger said he had ordered Breivik detained in solitary confinement for eight weeks, with no letters, newspapers or visits, except from a lawyer.

The detention, in line with a request from prosecutors, will allow them to investigate the case against Breivik.

Jeering crowds awaited Breivik at Oslo District Court.

"Get out, get out!" shouted Alexander Roeine, 24, banging on a police car he wrongly believed contained the mass killer. In fact police brought Breivik through a side entrance.

"Everyone here wants him dead," Roeine said, adding that he knew one of the dead and three survivors of the attacks.

Breivik had wanted to explain in public why he perpetrated modern-day Norway's worst peace-time massacre. He was denied a public platform, but the judge, in his news conference, gave an account of what the accused 32-year-old had said.

"MASS IMPORTS OF MUSLIMS"

Heger said Breivik had accused the ruling Labour Party of betraying Norway with "mass imports of Muslims."

He said his bombing of government buildings in Oslo and massacre at a summer camp for Labour's youth wing was aimed at deterring future recruitment to the party.

"The goal of the attack was to give a strong signal to the people," the judge quoted Breivik as saying.

Breivik's custody can be extended before his trial on terrorism charges. Police say the trial could be a year away.

"We want to see him really hurt for what he did," said Zezo Hasab, 32, among a crowd who gave Breivik a furious reception.

After the hearing, a police jeep drove away carrying an unshaven Breivik, with close-cropped blond hair and wearing a red jumper with a lighter red shirt underneath.

Norwegians held a minute's silence for Breivik's victims.

"In remembrance of the victims ... I declare one minute's national silence," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on the steps of Oslo University, flanked by Norway's king and queen.

The silence stretched to five minutes as thousands more stood around a carpet of flowers outside nearby Oslo cathedral. Only squawking seagulls and a barking dog broke the silence.

"This is a tragic event to see all these young people dying due to one man's craziness. It is important to have this minute of silence so that all the victims and the parents of the families know that people are thinking about them," said mechanic Sven-Erik Fredheim, 36, shortly before the silence.

Breivik planted a bomb on Friday outside Stoltenberg's Oslo office which killed eight, then drove to the wooded island of Utoeya and shot dead 68 at the Labour Party youth camp.

In a rambling 1,500-page tract posted online just before the massacre, Breivik explained how violence was needed to rescue Europe from Islam, immigration and multi-culturalism.

If he survived his assault and was arrested, this would "mark the initiation of the propaganda phase," he wrote.

His lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said: "He has been politically active and found out himself that he did not succeed with usual political tools and so resorted to violence."

The judge's decision to close the hearing to the public followed an outcry from Norwegians enraged at the possibility that Breivik would be allowed a public platform for his views.

A Facebook group called "Boycott Anders Behring Breivik" carried the message: "He has planned this stage, to get propaganda. Do NOT let him get that freedom ... Boycott all media describing the Norwegian terrorist and his beliefs."

The maximum jail term in Norway is 21 years, although that can be extended if there is a risk of repeat offences. "In theory he can be in jail for the rest of his life," said Staale Eskeland, professor of criminal law at the University of Oslo.

QUESTIONS FOR POLICE

Police handling of the crisis may come under more scrutiny after the revision to the death toll, which a police spokesman attributed to difficulties in gathering information at Utoeya.

Daily Dagsavisen asked "Why didn't you come earlier?" citing screams by youth as police arrived on the island -- an hour after they were notified of the shooting.

Earlier police efforts to reach the island stalled after one boat, overloaded with officers and equipment, was forced to stop when it began to take on water.

Police had believed Breivik acted alone after losing faith in mainstream parties, even those that have gained popularity and parliamentary seats on anti-immigration platforms in otherwise liberal, tolerant European nations, including affluent Norway.

The judge said Breivik's statements required investigation, including his remark about the existence of two more cells.

The attack was likely to tone down the immigration debate ahead of September local elections, analysts said, as parties try to distance themselves from Breivik's beliefs and reinforce Norwegians' self-image as an open, peaceful people.

Party leaders have agreed to delay the start of campaigning for the polls until mid-August, Norwegian news agency NTB said.

Norway's immigrant numbers nearly tripled between 1995 and 2010 to almost half a million. Arguments that many were drawn by generous welfare handouts spurred the growth of the Progress Party which became Norway's second biggest in parliament after the 2009 election on a largely anti-immigration platform.

Breivik once belonged to the party, but left saying it was too politically correct. He then began scheming to "resist," burying ammunition, weight-lifting, storing credit cards and researching bomb-making while playing online war games.

After three months of making explosives on a remote farm, Breivik drove a hire car packed with the device to Oslo, detonating it outside government offices.

He then drove to Utoeya, 45 km (28 miles) away. Dressed as a policeman, he calmly shot down Labour Party youngsters at the summer camp. His terrified victims tried to hide under beds or in the woods. Some leapt into the lake to escape.

"This is going to be an all-or-nothing scenario," Breivik wrote in his English-language online journal. "First coming costume party this autumn, dress up as a police officer. Arrive with insignias:-) Will be awesome as people will be very astonished:-)."

(Additional reporting by Walter Gibbs, Anna Ringstrom, Henrik Stoelen, Terje Solsvik, Patrick Lannin, Johan Ahlander, Wojciech Moskwa, Alister Doyle, John Acher and Ole Petter Skonnord in Oslo, Writing by Alistair Lyon)

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